<< Return to the news list

Gene Haas not a fan of the gap to the front-runners

Published on 15 Aug 2017 17:36
8
By: Fergal Walsh

Haas team owner Gene Haas says that the gap from the midfield pack to the top teams is so huge, nobody but the front-runners stands a chance of winning a race. This year, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull have won the eleven races between them and are considered to be the top three teams in the sport.

The last time there was a non-Mercedes, Red Bull or Ferrari win was the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, when Kimi Raikkonen won the race in the Lotus. Since the introduction of the hybrid era, F1 has become increasingly expensive and complex, leaving teams with bigger budgets to produce the greater cars.

"That’s a dilemma that F1 is facing,” Haas said. "You have the teams at the front and then this big mid-pack. We’re all very close together, as a matter of fact the mid-pack is all within a second. So from a competitive standpoint we’re all very equal, it’s just you have this group way out in front that we’re all struggling with. The reality of it is, that outside those three teams nobody has a chance to win. If you’re running sixth through 20th, you really don’t have a chance of winning."

Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz spoke of something similar recently: "In my opinion at the moment we have two different categories in Formula 1 and it's not what Formula 1 should be about, you know, so hopefully it's something that will not happen next year. For us, as a midfield team, we don't even look at what Mercedes is doing, as it's just a different category at the moment."

Fergal Walsh

F1 News Kimi Räikkönen Mercedes Lotus F1 Ferrari

Replies (8)

calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
A budget cap might fix that. Or not. Im a bit torn on the subject, but Im leaning towards it being necessary.
- + 0
- Aug 15 2017 - 20:00
- mcbhargav
  
  Posts: 1,332
  If budget is cut, Ferrari might give an Real estate asset as a payment rather than a Cash, or sell it for a cheap price.
  + 0
  
  Aug 16 2017 - 00:37
Ram Samartha

Posts: 1,172
Four words Gene, "Build a better car." They have the same engine and gearbox as Ferarri but the rest car is what's hurting them.
- + 0
- Aug 15 2017 - 21:43
- kngrthr
  
  Posts: 203
  i agree.
  
  it's not the complexity of the engines hurting the mid pack. it's aero and suspension . just like it always has been.
  + 0
  
  Aug 16 2017 - 00:23
- DutchTreath
  
  Posts: 5,058
  To be honest, I always suspect that Haas F1 get there problems in the second and 3th season. You can build a car with Ferrari technology and be lucky in your first season. But if you get problems (like the have with the brakes) they don't have to expect to will find it easily, because of the lack of basic knowledge of the car. Every team that have make a start in F1 had the same troubles in the first 2 a 3 years. We all remember Toyota for example.
  + 0
  
  Aug 16 2017 - 10:21
knobody

Posts: 4
Haas is accustom to NASCRAP where the cars only differ in setup with caution period every few laps to keep those close that miss the setup.
- + 0
- Aug 16 2017 - 17:23
Barron

Posts: 625
This kind of infers he expected to be near the top step in only his 2nd season! Well, everyone admires positive thinking, but to me, it only shows he didn't do his homework. He's already circumvented the spirit of F1 rules by building a 'kit car' and hired a couple of hot shoes, and it's kind of worked out but he will find (if he hadn't already) that he'll need a ton more cash and a strong following breeze to get further. Hint: He doesn't build his own car therefore his hands are tied. Sorry Gene, you're a great guy but you knew the rules.
- + 0
- Aug 16 2017 - 21:10
f1ski

Posts: 726
for the purpose of discussion why not have 1 or 2 midseason performance adjustments giving the mudpack teams more fuel or less weight or both to help close the gap. they do it at Lemans. it would benefit all teams with additional sponsorship if more teams placed on the podium. If a team gets an enhancements then dominates (sand bagging) they lose the advantage.
- + 0
- Aug 16 2017 - 22:02