Haas and F1--The adventure so far

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2016-05-27 15:46:00

What an exciting and auspicious start to a great adventure. Haas F1 Team, the first American Formula One team in 30 years, is fifth in the constructor standings four races into the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship.
In the two years preceding its inaugural season, no one would have dared dream that Haas F1 Team would be rubbing shoulders with the sport’s elite so soon after taking to the track.
In 24 months team founder Gene Haas and team principal Guenther Steiner took an idea and transformed it into a first-class race team competing at motorsports’ highest level. Technical partnerships were forged, multiple facilities were built and equipped, the best engineers and mechanics were employed, a car was designed from scratch and two of the most promising drivers in the sport were recruited.
Romain Grosjean is a Formula One veteran, competing full-time in the globe-trotting series since 2012 with Lotus F1 Team. Grosjean has scored 10 podiums, twice finishing a career-best second – the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix and the 2013 United States Grand Prix. With back-to-back top-10 finishes inside the championship standings in 2012 and 2013, Grosjean proved he was capable of mixing it up with the established talents in Formula One, building on the promise of his earlier career and quickly earning a strong reputation in the sport.
Teammate Esteban Gutierrez came to Haas F1 Team from Scuderia Ferrari, the technical partner of Haas F1 Team. Gutiérrez was the third driver for the Italian team in 2015, helping to develop the racecar for four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel and 2007 Formula One champion Kimi Räikkönen. Prior to joining Scuderia Ferrari, Gutiérrez spent 2013-2014 driving for the Ferrari-powered Sauber F1 Team. In those two years, Gutiérrez competed in every race, scoring a career-best seventh-place finish in the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
Right from the start, Gene Haas made it clear that Haas F1 Team would operate in an efficient and smart manner – the same methodology used to make Haas Automation the largest machine tool manufacturer in North America.
Haas F1 Team’s headquarters is located on the same Kannapolis, North Carolina, campus as Gene Haas’ championship-winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team, Stewart-Haas Racing. Haas F1 Team also has a European base in Banbury, England. Haas CNC machine tools are featured prominently in all of Haas’ motorsport facilities.
“From an international standpoint, Formula One is the highest echelon of racing, and Haas Automation builds the highest-quality machine tools,” says Haas. “When you hear the words Formula One, you know exactly what they stand for: a global racing series that invests in the latest technology and attracts the best talent in engineering and design.
“Haas Automation has an excellent reputation in the United States, specifically for reliability, innovation and value, and I want that reputation to continue to grow worldwide. Connecting Haas Automation with F1 in name and in practice is the best way to grow our business and elevate Haas Automation to a premium, global brand.”
Haas F1 Team is taking a very methodical, race-by-race approach to its debut season. There are no bold or brash statements – only the satisfaction from a job well done and an urgent sense to constantly improve and refine.
Prior to preseason testing in late February in Barcelona, the question facing Haas F1 Team was “Are they going to show up?” After not only showing up, but walking away with enough points to place the organization ahead of six other Formula One teams as the series returned to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix, the question now being asked of Haas F1 Team is “How far can you go?”

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