Haas not ruling out F1 exit after 2020

Gene Haas says that there is no certainty that his F1 team will be on the grid beyond the 2020 season.

Last year, the American squad endured a difficult campaign, finishing second to last in the constructors' championship.

In 2018, it managed to finish fifth in the standings and apply pressure to Renault, who secured the 'best of the rest' fourth position.

MORE: Perez: No reason why midfield teams should fear Racing Point | Haas four-tenths short of target according to its own calculations

However, as it enters its fifth year in F1, Haas says that he must evaluate whether or not it is worth sticking around and signing up for another handful of years in the sport.

"I'm just kind of waiting to see how this season starts off," Haas told Autosport when asked about his team's position in F1 beyond 2020.

"But if we have another bad year, then it would not be that favourable. We did five years. That was really the test - we're going to do this for five years, see how it goes and evaluate it and then we'll decide whether to go forward.

"I'm not saying we won't be back. It has to be evaluated. To do it for another five years, though, that would be a big commitment."

F1 is introducing new regulations in 2021 in an effort to bring the grid closer together, however Haas has questioned the worth of going through such a process if it can't emerge from it in a better place.

“With the new regulations coming in 2021, the big question is how much is that going to cost?” he asked.

"There's so much change going on in Formula 1, you really have to ask yourself is it really going to be worth the expense to try to implement all these changes?

"I know everyone thinks the changes are good, but boy, they're expensive.”