Anyone else here excited for America's 2016 Formula One team???

[Ace-Garageguy]

I forgot all about the Gurney / Weslake Eagle. A beautiful car, somewhat similar to the Lotus 38 and by the same designer...Len Terry.

It's a huge accomplishment to even qualify for an F1 race, and to win one is truly outstanding.

I wish the US-based Haas team all the possible good luck during their development and racing seasons, and certainly hope they DO attract more interest among Americans in this part of the sport.

What I'd REALLY like to see happen in F1 is a simplification of the formula though, removing the driver-assist electronics, the aerodynamic whiffle-splitters, and requiring the engines to be stock-block production-car-based.

[Miatatom]

Thou blasphemer

May be true to some but it's certainly not racing they're doing at those places. Just a high speed parade. If bulldozing is blasphemous, my other  remedy would be to remove the first 30 or 40 rows of seats, build even stronger fences, take off the restricter plates and let them have at it. That would never happen because of the lost revenue.

As a side note, I got to meet Austin Dillon at a local convenience store just before Christmas, right here in little old Soddy Daisy, TN. That's where his girlfriend lives. She's a cheerleader for the Tennessee Titans. Must be an easy job since there isn't much to cheer about. He was also visiting Dale McDowell. Dale works for Childress and coached Austin and Ty when they were running dirt tracks. Dale's Mom was married to my cousin Joe Dover. Small world sometimes.

[Miatatom]

What I'd REALLY like to see happen in F1 is a simplification of the formula though, removing the driver-assist electronics, the aerodynamic whiffle-splitters, and requiring the engines to be stock-block production-car-based.

I totally agree with your ideas with the exception of the stock block. F1 is the pinnacle of motorsports but they should follow what NASCAR is doing and make the cars harder to drive. The cream will rise to the top. I remember Darryl Waltrip saying his grandmother could drive one of those cars wide open at Daytona or Talladega because they were making so much downforce. We'll see how well their ideas work on 2/28. They'll be in Atlanta. Maybe I should bet on an over/under in Vegas on how many of the cars finish the race. Forty start and I'd bet 8 to 10 cars will be crashed out before the end. Or maybe I'm underestimating their skill level. I don't think so.

PS I can't believe I said F1 should emulate NASCAR.

PSS I'll definitely be pulling for Haas and Co. in F1.

[jeffs396]

I forgot all about the Gurney / Weslake Eagle. A beautiful car, somewhat similar to the Lotus 38 and by the same designer...Len Terry.

It's a huge accomplishment to even qualify for an F1 race, and to win one is truly outstanding.

I wish the US-based Haas team all the possible good luck during their development and racing seasons, and certainly hope they DO attract more interest among Americans in this part of the sport.

What I'd REALLY like to see happen in F1 is a simplification of the formula though, removing the driver-assist electronics, the aerodynamic whiffle-splitters, and requiring the engines to be stock-block production-car-based.

 

I totally agree with your ideas with the exception of the stock block. F1 is the pinnacle of motorsports but they should follow what NASCAR is doing and make the cars harder to drive. The cream will rise to the top. I remember Darryl Waltrip saying his grandmother could drive one of those cars wide open at Daytona or Talladega because they were making so much downforce. We'll see how well their ideas work on 2/28. They'll be in Atlanta. Maybe I should bet on an over/under in Vegas on how many of the cars finish the race. Forty start and I'd bet 8 to 10 cars will be crashed out before the end. Or maybe I'm underestimating their skill level. I don't think so.

PS I can't believe I said F1 should emulate NASCAR.

PSS I'll definitely be pulling for Haas and Co. in F1.

 

I'll take this a further step and say I'd like to see the days again when MORE engine manufacturers would supply powertrains for these beasts. No production-based blocks, but full blown, one-off technological marvels that only last a race or two, like the old days.

I thought it was cool when the "little guy" (compared to the giants like Mercedes) like Hart, Yamaha, Ilmor, etc. were building cool, one-offs.

Exotic and very EXPLOSION prone

AND back to the screamin' normally aspirated V10s please...

Edited February 17, 2016 by jeffs396

[Bernard Kron]

The approach Gene Haas is taking is totally rational, and as a result, somewhat unexciting. He's spent the time and energy to build strong relationships with premier suppliers so he can hit the ground running as a second-tier team with a decent chance of garnering a few points, and the resulting millions of dollars and commercial advantages in subsequent years that they bring. He's signed two hungry, experienced drivers, one of which, at least, is talented enough to win races. Both drivers will be invaluable during the development phase. Like I said, not very exciting but it augurs well that the team will survive past its first couple of seasons.

Gene Haas wants to take Haas Automation global, and perhaps even parlay it into a suite of automotive-related companies built around his racing expertise. He already has relationships and operations that would permit him to do it. But the critical test will be when they must face what it takes to be a championship winning team. Will Haas have the fire in the belly to risk the commercial and financial costs of a Red Bull operation, for example? Dietrich Mateschitz built Red Bull into arguably the last championship winning team which might be considered a "privateer" in the sense that they are not an automobile manufacturer, or, for that matter, an industry consultant in the way that Williams operates. To do it Mateschitz had to spend staggering sums of money. Haas wants to parlay his NASCAR experience and plant in a business-savvy, financially prudent (can we say that about an F1 operation?) way to launch his operation. But F1 isn't NASCAR, which is basically a silhouette formula using cookie cutter cars and a spec chassis. As hard as F1 is trying to destroy itself it could well be one of few remaining non-spec car racing series. But Haas is treating it as if it were. At some point he will have to choose. Dallara will not risk its commercial operation for an F1 championship, but Gene Haas will have to if he wants one bad enough. I think Haas knows this. But that's not for now. For now he's doing all the right things to get started. I wish him good fortune and will be following with interest.

[afx]

Well the only American driver we had in F1 just got pushed out!

F1: Rossi without a drive after Manor confirms Haryanto

Alex Rossi's hopes of racing again for Manor Racing this year have been dashed after the team finally confirmed that Indonesian Rio Haryanto will drive for the team this season.

The GP2 race winner will thus join Pascal Wehrlein in a lineup that features two rookies. The news also puts an end to the hopes of Will Stevens, who had also been in the frame for a drive.

Haryanto comes with huge financial backing from his home country. He has tested for the team three times, starting as long ago as 2010, when it was still known as Virgin. He finished fourth in last year's GP2 series in what was his fourth season in the category.

“We are delighted to announce Rio as our second race driver for 2016,” said team boss Stephen Fitzpatrick. “Rio’s been racing since he first got into a kart at six years old. He’s tenacious on and off the track and made a big impression on last year’s GP2 battle. Rio’s huge following in Indonesia is great for the team and for F1. They are keen to see him on the grid and we’re confident that we’ll see him enjoying some exciting battles in the year ahead.”

“Manor Racing is a team with an exciting vision and ambitious plans,” said Haryanto. “They have produced a great package and I can’t wait to get in the car. Melbourne will be a huge moment for me, my country, supporters and fans and I want to thank everyone who’s been with me since I started in single seaters; 2016 is my chance to reward that faith and represent Asia in F1.”

 

[roym]

Hope they do well.

F1 needs help right now.

Been an F1 fan as long as I can remember, and it says something about the sport that the most interesting character- driver wise, for me anyway- is a Finnish Vodka enthusiast known as the Iceman, famous for his lack of emotion with the press (and not for the cubes of frozen water in his Beverage). Still think Alonso is the most gifted and intelligent driver in the field. Wish Hamilton would go back to whatever hood he thinks he came from.

Racing needs to be racing, not processions. Amazing to think that in this modern era LeMans can produce a closer finish (14 odd seconds between different makes of cars) after 24 hours racing than F1 can after 24 minutes.

 

 

[afx]

Here is the new car: VF-16

https://www.haasf1team.com/news/introducing-vf-16

 

[afx]

Romain Grosjean expects to return after Haas front wing failure

Romain Grosjean says Haas is investigating the front wing failure which curtailed his first morning with the VF16-H in Barcelona but expects to return this afternoon.

Grosjean completed 13 laps on the first morning with the American's team's debuting 2016 car but prompted a red flag when his front wing failed on the pit straight. He returned the car to the garage and did not emerge from the pits again before the one-hour lunch break, though he expects to see some more track time before Monday's session is over.

Asked if Haas knew what caused the failure, he replied: "I think they have maybe got a first clue but still investigating to make sure that doesn't happen again. We've seen it with another team a few years ago but it's nothing too bad.

"It may delay the day a little bit but hopefully we can go out this afternoon and do more mileage for the car, which is important."

Explaining that he had no warning of the failure, he went on to joke: "[The failure] went quite smoothly. Took off nicely, landed nicely! Then I thought 'hmm, something is not right'!"

Grosjean says there have been positive signs from his first day behind the wheel of the Ferrari-powered Haas car.

"It was pretty good. We had a bit of a delayed start today but then we went out on track and could do a few laps. We had a small front wing failure before the lunch break and I'm sure it will all be sorted earlier rather than later, so that's good. The feeling in the car is good, so that's very important for the guys to see what the driver was thinking.

"The car is feeling nice, it's feeling good, so that's very important. There's a lot of work we need to achieve but so far I am pleased with what we did this morning."

 

[Crazy Ed]

   And it's comments/replies like that are also the reason one looks for experienced drivers to develop new Cars.

[58 Impala]

I'm looking forward to the new season. I'll be rooting for the Haas team, hope they do well. And I totally agree with Jeff, especially the part about the screamin' V10's. I miss hearing them hitting gears at over 20,000 rpm.

 

I'll take this a further step and say I'd like to see the days again when MORE engine manufacturers would supply powertrains for these beasts. No production-based blocks, but full blown, one-off technological marvels that only last a race or two, like the old days.

I thought it was cool when the "little guy" (compared to the giants like Mercedes) like Hart, Yamaha, Ilmor, etc. were building cool, one-offs.

Exotic and very EXPLOSION prone

AND back to the screamin' normally aspirated V10s please...

[afx]

Gene Haas: 'I was kind of naive' about F1

Gene Haas admits he underestimated the complexity of Formula One and jumped in "without fully understanding" the sport.

Haas' first winter of testing has been mixed, with impressive mileage on week one dampened by a string of reliability issues this week. The debuting team struggle with the complexed brake-by-wire system on Thursday, with Romain Grosjean triggering three red flags through various off-track moments.

Haas admits the team's recent setbacks have made him realise the depth of the challenges in F1.

Asked how F1 compared to NASCAR, where his team has won a championship, Haas replied: "This isn't North Carolina, I've come to realise that! The complexity of the cars and the engines and what they're doing with them is way beyond anything I ever expected. I think the technical aspects of these cars is fascinating, I think the engineers - especially the engineers that are working them and designing them - it's a real challenge to get these cars to do that. So I think it's a challenge on the one hand.

"On the other hand, I don't think the fans really understand how complex it is. Even I didn't know. I was kind of naive too about what goes in to make one of these cars run. It is a very complex process, it is a complex car, it's a complex way to race cars, and right now, it's a little bit overwhelming to be honest with you."

Haas used the brakes to illustrate his point, pointing out that the lofty expectations some have attributed to him his team are unrealistic as it finds its feet in the sport early this season.

"A simple thing like brakes, you can't just go out there and stop on your brakes. You have to basically heat up your brakes to the exact right temperature to get them to work and if they're not at the right temperature they won't work. If you don't do that right you can actually overheat them and theres all sorts of catastrophic things that can happen if you don't do it perfectly.

"We jumped in with both feet without fully understanding it but I'm not sure how else you learn by unless you kind of jump in and test the waters. So I think if people were expecting us to go out in the first few races and suddenly compete with the big boys I think that wasn't realistic."

[Bernard Kron]

In other interviews Gene Haas has explained how he thought he could use the U.S. racing community's model of achieving competitiveness by crafting a disciplined and well run effort using the best of the existing suppliers, good drivers and excellent if rather ordinary preparation. All it requires is a good set of operator's manuals and the skill and experience to use them well. This certainly works in most formulas. But F1 is struggling even now to avoid exactly that, It's why constructors must still build their own chassis, or at least have a bespoke one built for them (as Haas has with Dallara). The brakes Haas talks about must have been a real surprise for him, being a "standard" off-the-shelf part. (I believe Hass, in fact, has an interest in the Brembo distributor for North America.) But the way they are used, as he describes, are anything but standardized, You don't just bolt them on and go. Whole systems must be implemented to support them; even the driver must adjust his approach to get them to operate effectively. I suspect the feedback from Grosjean and Guitterez must have been a bit withering at first. But, to his credit, he seems to be learning fast. He may not enjoy his first year at the back of the pack running with the Manor boys, but most of the wannabes and hedge fund guys have been shaken out of F1 in recent years and the real racers are the ones that remain*, perhaps Manor Racing most of all. I think Gene Hass will respond well to that and will up his game accordingly.** I hope so - I especially hope he can afford it!

 

*Unfortunately the hedge fund guys still own the sport - but that's a discussion for another day.)

**I would love to be a fly on the wall in conversations he might have with Frank and Claire Williams!

[jeffs396]

Congrats to Haas F1 on their debut in Australia!

Sixth place finish, 8 championship points!!!

[tjr2121]

Congrats to Haas F1 on their debut in Australia!

Sixth place finish, 8 championship points!!!

+1

[afx]

Imagine where they may have finished if that ridiculous qualifying format wouldn't have sent them to the back of the grid.

Edited March 20, 2016 by afx

[dublin boy]

Good to see the Yanks back, great result today for Romain.

[rusty85]

Imagine where they may have finished if that ridiculous qualifying format wouldn't have sent them to the back of the grid.

I was thinking the same thing, Romaine was fair ripping through the field right from the green flag. It's a shame Guttierez retired, because I think they might of had two points scoring cars if he'd stayed in.

On a related note I'm glad Alonso walked away from that wreck in one piece. 

[afx]

I was thinking the same thing, Romaine was fair ripping through the field right from the green flag. It's a shame Guttierez retired, because I think they might of had two points scoring cars if he'd stayed in.

On a related note I'm glad Alonso walked away from that wreck in one piece. 

It was one scary crash.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQhyHuWLJMI

Edited March 20, 2016 by afx

[Joe Handley]

Yeah, that was a wild wreck!  Kinda happy to see them come out swinging like that at their first race too.

[Miatatom]

I enjoyed watching this GP as much as any I've seen in quit a while. Fun to have a team to pull for. I'm glad Alonso is OK.

[Crazy Ed]

   When Alonso hit that wall the last thing I expected to see was him walking away from that pile of rubble waving! And seeing Haas Scoring Points was almost as big a surprise. Other than the Screwball Qualifying format this was one of the Best F-1's in some time.

[Joe Handley]

[afx]

[dublin boy]

That's an amazing picture JC.