Haas have had the start to the new era of Formula 1 that they would have wanted, having essential sacrificed their 2021 season to focus on developing their car for 2022, where major regulation changes came into play.
The team finished eighth overall in the championship standing, ahead of AlphaTauri and Williams, and even reached the heights of a P5 finish in Bahrain, courtesy of the returning Kevin Magnussen.
Reflecting on the season as a whole, team principal Guenther Steiner has said that he is content with how the year panned out for his Haas team, with the ups and downs coming as a learning curve for the team.
“I don’t think we performed like other teams, not because of money, but because of where we started,” explained Steiner.
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“When we started it was January and you can’t have a team of people working together perfectly and in harmony from day one.
“So it took a while, but at the beginning of the year we were still quite strong. Then something was missing.
“It was up and down, but Formula 1 is just a tough place. I think we discovered why things went the way they did.”
Haas did not have the financial muscle to reach the budget cap in 2022, but thanks to the arrival of new title sponsor Moneygram for 2023, Steiner is confident of his team’s ability to reach the cap.
Haas has been without a title sponsor for 2022, after the team were forced to ditch Uralkali and driver Nikita Mazepin as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the start of the year.
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“Next year we will reach the budget cap and I am confident that we can take the next step, technically and as a team,” concluded the Haas boss.
Haas will boast an experienced driver line-up of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg in 2023, as the team have decided to steer away from young drivers and opt for ready-made quality to help them in their hunt to return to the midfield.
With the recent regulation changes and budget caps being introduced with the aim of bringing the field closer together, Haas will believe that they have a genuine chance to become a podium contender within the next few years, should they be able to execute their long-term plan to perfection.