There’s no mistaking it, Haas is indeed the team representing Uncle Sam on the Formula 1 grid! Like last year, the team is using the United States Grand Prix to highlight its roots, including numerous stars on the front wing and the rear of the sidepods, touches of blue and an eagle on the in front of pontoons.
But if the graphic design of the Haas VF-24 changes this weekend, the car itself will set down in Texas with certain developments. Haas is indeed bringing its last big package to Austin, intended to extract the last hundredths over the last six rounds of the season. With three points behind Racing Bulls in the fight for sixth place, every improvement counts, and Haas hopes to continue its streak of three consecutive Grands Prix in the points.
« In Austin we bring our main evolution for the latter part of the season, which will mainly involve a new stage of floor and bodywork development”explains Andrea De Zordo, technical director. « The goal, as always, will be to improve the aerodynamic load in order to make the car faster. It’s difficult to make a big step in terms of times, so we’re talking about small numbers, but in the tight battle of the middle of the pack, everything is a big step, and we hope to make it. This is a development and evolution of our package, not something new, although the car will visually be a little different.”
Haas 100% committed to the fight for sixth place
Austin will be, as in 2023, a circuit where the Sprint format will be used, which will offer more points to be won for the different teams. Haas finished on the points gate last year, after the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. But the VF-24 is faster than its predecessor, as shown by Nico Hülkenberg’s tenth place in the drivers’ championship, and De Zordo is therefore optimistic.
“We didn’t score any points last year but it wasn’t a bad race for us and I think it will be the case again this year. We are fighting for sixth place in the championship and it is a very good feeling. We really need to do everything in our power to achieve this because it would be great for everyone on the team who has worked hard to make this season a success. »
READ ALSO > Haas-Toyota: A marriage and above all questions
