A breaking story reported over at motorsport-com, McLaren and Force India are questioning the surprise speed of Haas formula 1 2018 car, with undertones of an unfair advantage having Ferrari as a close partner.
The Haas team surprised many with their pace in Australia, qualifying well enough to lock out the third row of the grid, Magnussen running comfortably in 4th position before the pit stop double debacle; causing both cars to retire early. Some commenters have said that there is too much carry over from Ferrari but team boss Steiner declared that “We are not doing anything we shouldn’t be doing or not allowed to do.”.
McLaren’s Fernando Alonso called the Haas formula 1 2018 car a ‘Ferrari Replica’ at the Australian Grand Prix. Team boss Zak Brown agree’s with his number one driver saying that they need to check that the American team having copied the Ferrari ‘too closely’, which would be potentially in breach of regulation.
“There could be some influence, there’s certainly some parts of the car that look very similar to last year’s car.
“But that’s for the engineers and the FIA to look at more closely.” concludes Brown.
Force India’s operating officer Otmar Szafnauer declared the Haas formula 1 2018 car to be ‘magic’
“I don’t know how they do it, it’s magic,” he said. “It’s never been done before in Formula 1.
“I just don’t know how it can be right that someone who’s been in the sport for a couple of years with no resource could produce a car [like this]… does it happen by magic?
“If it does, I want the wand.”
Now clarification will likely be requested, asking the FIA to explain the Ferrari / Haas relationship and if guidelines were being respected.
“All the aerodynamic surfaces have to be your own,” says Szafnauer “If they’re not, I don’t know how you can tell unless you start investigating. ”
“Scrutineering only tells you that it fits within the boxes of the regulations. ”
“Is it yours or somebody else’s [idea]? That’s the real question. And I don’t know the answer to that. ”
“Maybe it is their own, it’s just suspect – how can you gain that knowledge without history and the right tools and people?”
Australian Grand Prix – Post race reaction
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1. I’m all for customer cars. Nobody gives a shit about constructers, or manufacturers, only drivers and teams.
2. Do we HAVE to look at this ugly face on the video cover on all posts here? It seems kind of desperate to see it everywhere.
Well, look at the SF70 and take a good look at this years Haas.
Sour grapes from the Krispy Kreme man at McLaren
Sancho Panza.
what is unfair about this? Haas took a chance on a new form of partnership with Ferrari. Basically a mechano version of an F1 car built from vendor parts. everyone laughed at them and now they are doing better. The laughter has stopped and people are pissed that they’ve been beaten at the game. Nobody saw it as a problem at the start and F1 blessed the agreement. Move on McLaren. Move on Force India. you lost the first battle and instead of fighting to win the war they are whining to get the rules changed. Babies
No, they’re not trying to get the rules changed. They are asking whether Haas broke the existing rules. If it’s legal, then great. I’m sure it will become the benchmark for many smaller teams. But if it’s against the rules, then Haas (and any other team, no matter the size) should be investigated. McLaren and Force India have every right to ask the question.
Funny Force India didn’t ask that last year when they were 4th in the constructors WC. What has changed? Maybe because Force India is now up for sale and a team that’s 4th in the constructors WC is worth a lot more than one that’s 8th………….
And McLaren realize their car isn’t going to challenge for podiums unless several cars have problems. Which isn’t what Brown was telling everyone.
We can talk about the ironies all day. You may well be right. But also, Force India are a team that do a magnificent job on a tight budget. This year they were hit particularly hard because their halo installation required a major redesign, in comparison to other teams. If they perceive a rival team to be cheating the rules or exploiting a loophole, then I sympathise with that. We want more diversity in F1, more engine manufacturers, more innovations up and down the pit lane, not less.
This becomes no less true when McLaren talks about it. I understand that it may seem petty that McLaren, with all their resources and history, are talking about this. They would clearly want to be above Haas and not have to worry. But that doesn’t change the claim being valid or not. We shall wait and see.
As for the negativity around McLaren, I really don’t get it. Getting the new engine so late, and it requiring a different chassis to package it, was always going to impact the early season. They clearly had to ditch Honda. Their update package wasn’t ready for Melbourne, and I believe that after their cooling problems in the test they were running conservatively. They were never going to compete with Red Bull from the off, and likely will remain behind them. Red Bull are a quality team that knows the Renault engine. What we hope to see is McLaren competing, and that was always going to take time.
Astute appraisal
I don’t understand how Haas competing with a Ferrari Replica could ever be a problem for McLaren. Because since 2016 McLaren have had the best chassis on the grid (…). At least that’s what they’ve told us time and time again.