Since acquiring the former Marussia factory, Haas F1 Team principal Guenther Steiner has been busy putting together the first American Formula 1 team to race in 30 years.
The team’s United States home in Kannapolis, North Carolina, will be the American base of operations as Banbury, Oxfordshire, U.K. will serve as Haas F1 Team’s European base, streamlining logistics for access to overseas suppliers and Formula One venues in Europe. According to a recent press release, the team’s equipment, including transporter, garage and pit setup are under construction, and will be housed at Haas F1 Team’s UK facility.
Originally announced in November last year, veteran motorsports engineer Matt Borland was named vice president of technology for Haas F1 Team in addition to his role at Stewart-Haas racing. Borland currently serves as a liaison between the two organizations: Haas F1 Team in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship and Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
On the Formula 1 side, former Jordan team manager and A1GP technical coordinator Dave O’Neill has been appointed as Haas F1 Team manager, with 28 year F1 veteran and former McLaren senior design team leader Rob Taylor as chief designer. Dallara and Ferrari alum Ben Agathangelou has been appointed as chief aerodynamicist.
The 2016 Haas F1 Team entry has already been designed as a 60 percent scale model for wind tunnel testing. Team principal Guenther Steiner:
“While there is still a lot of work to do, a lot has already been accomplished for Haas F1 Team to be competitive when we join the F1 grid in 2016… Our technical partnership with Ferrari has allowed us to develop our car and our people at an exceptional pace. The way we’re going about our F1 team is new and different, but it’s working. We’re committed to our plan, we’re committed to F1 and, most importantly, we’re on schedule. This time next year, our cars will have already been tested and we’ll be readying them for Melbourne.”
Haas Automation, Inc., will serve as the team’s primary sponsor.
