“Looks like a Red Bull” - F1 fans react as Haas reveal their 2024 livery
Haas F1 has kicked off the launch season, releasing the team's challenger for the 2024 F1 season.
After what was a lackluster season for the American outfit which saw them finish bottom of the Constructors' standings, a new-look Haas F1 has become the first team on the grid to reveal its 2024 challenger, the VF-24.
Following Guenther Steiner's departure, the team, under the leadership of Ayao Komatsu, would be aiming to take the fight to the F1 heavyweights with its brand-new challenger.
The VF-24 takes a departure from the team's previous livery, introducing a predominantly black color scheme with the nose cone being the sole exception. An exposed carbon fiber dominates the car's appearance. Meanwhile, red flashes accentuate the black, gracing the sidepods, front wing, and rear wing, while white details adorn the halo and a significant area on the top face of the sidepods.
Fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to react to the car's designs. One user drew parallels with Red Bull Racing's livery, humorously stating:
"Looks like a red bull."
Meanwhile, in a sarcastic tone, a second user, alluding to Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari, quipped:
"The most exciting F1 news in the past 24 hours."
A third user commented:
"So the whole grid is just gonna be black?"
Here are some more fan reactions to Haas F1's 2024 livery launch:
New Haas F1 boss pessimistic about team's chances at season-opener in Bahrain
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu does not carry heavy expectations with the team's first race of the season in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
After a disastrous 2023 season which saw the team's drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen struggle for race pace, Komatsu acknowledged the team's struggles on the track. He said (via Sky Sports F1):
"Out of the gates in Bahrain I still think we're going to be towards the back of the grid, if not last."
"The reason our launch-spec car is not going to be quick enough in Bahrain is not because of the quality of the people we have here, but it’s because we started late and then we stopped for two months to do the Austin upgrade. It really diverted resource, so we lost time there."
Despite these setbacks, Komatsu expressed optimism about positive gains in the wind tunnel and the team moving in the right direction.
"But the team is finding good gains in the wind tunnel so that’s positive and in terms of characteristics, it’s going in the right direction," Komatsu added.