How Haas F1 defied the odds and finished an impressive P5 in Constructors' Championship in 2018
Haas debuted in F1 in 2016 as an American team looking to establish itself in the sport. The team started with Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez behind the wheel. They made an immediate impact with the French driver finishing inside points for the team.
However, in the first two seasons as an F1 constructor, there was muted success for Haas. The Americans finished eighth in 2016 and suffered a similar fate in 2017. Nonetheless, something clicked in 2018 that catapulted the team up the order to finish the season P5 in the championship.
That time when Romain Grosjean finished P6 in Haas F1's debut race, Australia 2016, and was as happy as if they'd won the race. https://t.co/WmFzoHv1Nt
In just three years, the American team was already one of the top five teams on the F1 grid. But how exactly did it happen?
Running Ferrari engines
Guenther Steiner will probably be angry if the 'Ferrari connection' and the role it played in Haas' rise is mentioned again, but it's hard to deny the correlation. The Ferrari-Haas association helped the American outfit immensely and it was especially evident in 2018 when Ferrari had a contending power unit.
The package itself was very impressive as Ferrari started the 2018 F1 season with the best package on the grid. The benefits trickled down to Haas as well, as the car was quite competitive earlier in the year. To add to this, with the team now in its third year, the operational shortcomings had been taken care of as the team had cut down on a lot of operational mistakes.
Despite its association with newcomer Mick Schumacher, Richard Mille has been removed from the list of Haas F1 sponsors.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker is now only partnered with Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren.
#F1 #RichardMille #HaasF1
All of this helped the Americans score consistent points all season and, in essence, set up a foundation for the team's best-ever season.
The F1 midfield stalwarts hit trouble
The 2018 F1 season was one of the more tumultuous years for the midfield. Force India, the perennial midfield leader, went into administration. Additionally, Williams' form hit a downturn as their car ran completely off pace, and McLaren's first season with the Renault power unit was off to a poor start.
If Force India had not gone into administration, they would have arguably finished ahead of Haas in the championship given their run of form.
Don't forget this - Sergio Perez, the man who helped save Force India/Racing Point from administration and then got sacked by the team, won its first race
Williams, on the other hand, suffered a major downgrade. Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin were pedestrian at best. At McLaren, Fernando Alonso had completely taken over. While the team showed improvement, the Spaniard was close to being burnt out and results were just not competitive.
All of this gave Haas the opportunity to capitalize and that's exactly what they did as they ended up outscoring all of these teams in the championship.
The Haas driver lineup was far more complementary
The most important part of the equation was the driver line-up. In 2016, Haas had Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez -- a lineup in which Grosjean did the bulk of the scoring. In 2017, Kevin Magnussen replaced Esteban Gutierrez and was instantly an upgrade for the team. Even the Danish driver, however, needed a year to completely settle into the team.
In 2018, the team was in the perfect position with two drivers capable of exploiting the car's potential. Magnussen took the lead for the team and, in the end, it was this synergy that helped the outfit accumulate enough points to finish fifth in the championship.
What has happened since?
The very next season began with the American team's downfall. The very factors that contributed to giving the team P5 were mitigated as Ferrari took a step back in 2019, which had an impact on Haas. Similarly, teams like McLaren, Torro Rosso, and others got their act together and left the American outfit behind.
The last time each F1 team signed a rookie:
2022 - Alfa Romeo
2021 - Alpha Tauri, Haas
2020 - Williams
2019 - McLaren
2016 - Alpine
2011 - Aston Martin
2005 - Red Bull
1999 - Mercedes
1970 - Ferrari
#F1
Even worse was the driver combo. Both Magnussen and Grosjean were too error-prone to bring in strong results. The short-tempered nature of the drivers was made worse by the short-tempered nature of Guenther Steiner. All of this contributed to Steiner's squad taking a step back in 2019 as they finished ninth in the championship.
Since then, with Ferrari struggling as well at the front, the American team has followed the same trend. The team finished ninth in 2020 and in 2021, it fared even worse with a P10 finish.
The 2022 F1 season saw the team make some improvements and finish the season in P8. However, they've been unable to mimic their memorable run from 2018.