Haas Might Not Be In F1 Today If It Weren't For Significant Change In Regulations

Tuesday, 09 January 2024 at 05:00

Guenther Steiner recently opened up, saying the Haas Formula One team wouldn't be here anymore if it weren't for a change in regulations.

Not all teams in Formula One are equal. Some are bigger and backed by huge popular car manufacturing companies like Mercedes, Ferrari, or McLaren.

And on the other side of the spectrum, there are smaller teams like Haas, Williams, or Sauber. In general, the smaller teams used to have no chance of competing against the giants.

It wouldn't matter what invention these small teams could come up with; the big teams could just always outspend them and beat them in races by a couple of seconds per lap.

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But then, new budget cap regulations were introduced in 2021 to bring the field closer together and increase the chances of winning for smaller teams. Guenther Steiner told KTM Summer Grill:

"In general, without the cost cap, I think Haas wouldn’t be here anymore. So would not a few other teams, because the gap just got too big, and it was all about how much money can you spend?"

Haas went through a very tough period in the years 2020 and 2021, which were all about Mercedes and Red Bull domination. The American team would get lapped every single race. Sometimes, Haas drivers finished the race three laps behind the leader.

"2020 and ’21 were very tough years for us because we didn’t know if we are staying around in Formula 1 or not,” he added when asked about the direction of the current team."

In 2022, new technical regulations were introduced, so new car concepts had to be developed by every single team. With the budget cap in place, the whole grid was instantly much closer together.

"But in ’22, from where we were, we came back – I wouldn’t say mega strong – but fairly strong, and then obviously, we wanted to build on that one."

Even though Haas finished the Championship in the last place in the 2023 season, their drivers were much more competitive in comparison to the years leading up to 2022.

"In the beginning of ’23, we built on it and came back good, but then, I don’t want to bore you again with that story, it didn’t go the right direction. But I think the cost cap in general, is very good for Formula 1."

Moreover, all ten F1 teams were within one second per lap towards the end of the season, which means it doesn't take too big of a step forward for somebody to change the pecking order completely.

While his team finished last during the most recent season, Steiner recently said Haas could achieve top of the mid-field during the 2024 season. Where do you see the American team finishing in 2024?