Following its sponsorship this season, Haas will take on the Ferrari V6 power plant for its own F1 team in 2016
Known for precision CNC machines with an edge of ‘Good Ol’ Boys American NASCAR spirit’, Haas Automation has officially thrown in its hat for the 2016 F1 Championship.
The first American-led F1 team since 1986, founded by industrialist Gene Haas, the Haas F1 Team is based in the United States on the same Kannapolis, North Carolina campus as its championship-winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team, Stewart-Haas Racing.
That being said, the team will be taking some European finesse into the fold by partnering with Scuderia Ferrari for its power unit.
Consisting of the engine, the motor generator unit-kinetic, the motor generator unit-heat, the energy store, turbocharger and control electronics, the rest of the car design will be up to Haas’ US operation.
“There is no team in Formula One more accomplished than Scuderia Ferrari, and no team with more history,” said Haas F1 Team Chairman Gene Haas. “They’ve been a part of Formula One from the beginning, and now they’ll be a part of Haas F1 Team’s beginning.
“Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsports. It showcases the latest technology and is the most competitive form of racing in the world. Aligning Haas F1 Team with such a tenured and successful company in Scuderia Ferrari provides our team with the greatest opportunity for success in 2016 and beyond.”
Given the propensity of manufacturing hardware it has to hand, and that they’ll need to teach the engineers to design a car that can turn both left and right, this could be one of the most interesting engineering projects to take to the F1 track in a long time.
