The Haas F1 Thread - News and Speculation

[Ruslan]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Yea, saw the news on Moneygram. According to Wikipedia, the company's revenue was $900 million in 2019. So, wondering how big of a sponsorship package they have put together. What percent of the company's revenue is going to be spent on marketing? 3%... 5% ???

[Michael Ferner]

Moneytron you say?

I thought I read Money Grab...

[MonteCristo]

Moneytron you say?

I thought I read Money Grab...

Hang on, where's my Moneygone?

[XcraigX]

Hang on, where's my Moneygone?

Yep. From now on it will be team Moneygone Haas F1 on this forum.

[Ruslan]

Yea, saw the news on Moneygram. According to Wikipedia, the company's revenue was $900 million in 2019. So, wondering how big of a sponsorship package they have put together. What percent of the company's revenue is going to be spent on marketing? 3%... 5% ???

OK, found the answer to my question: Moneygram deal is worth $20 million (2% of gross revenues?). That is actually not a whole lot. I would have thought for a team sponsor the total would have to be much higher, considering that the budget cap for 2023 is $135 million. Can we conclude that Haas is going to be running for well under the budget cap?

[XcraigX]

I think the news is designed to try and generate more buzz for Haas and generate interest from other sponsors.

[Star]

Word on the street... okay, on twitter, seems to be that MIck Schumacher is going to be out of a seat and is to be replaced by Nico Hulkenberg for 2023. What adds fuel to the fire so to speak is that Aston Martin have signed a new reserve driver in Stoffel Vandoorne, pressumably to replace Hulkenberg if he is off on his way to Haas.

Now don't get me wrong, I like Nico Hulkenberg, I think he's a good driver and a solid guy, but, he hasn't been in F1 properly for a while now having been out of a contract since 2019, apart from filling in when a couple of drivers had covid, and Mick Schumacher has improved a lot this season.Who is to say Nico will do a better job than him? I think they're making a big mistake and it's a real shame for young Mick.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Who is to say Nico will do a better job than him? I think they're making a big mistake and it's a real shame for young Mick.

I honestly think it might be the fact he seems to have a safe pair off hands, whereas Nick has a tendency to have big and often silly crashes. Guenther is always going on about how much money Mick has cost the team in crashes.
There is no doubt Mick has improved but I dont think he will ever be anything more than middle of the road. I guess now Mick has been dumped by Ferrari he comes with less trimmings and bonuses.
Is Hulkenberg better than middle of the road? Maybe not but perhaps he is more useful helping KMag develop the car. I believe the feedback and input side is one of Nico's strengths, a talent I have never heard of in terms of Mick.

[Star]

Who is to say Nico will do a better job than him? I think they're making a big mistake and it's a real shame for young Mick.

I honestly think it might be the fact he seems to have a safe pair off hands, whereas Nick has a tendency to have big and often silly crashes. Guenther is always going on about how much money Mick has cost the team in crashes.
There is no doubt Mick has improved but I dont think he will ever be anything more than middle of the road. I guess now Mick has been dumped by Ferrari he comes with less trimmings and bonuses.
Is Hulkenberg better than middle of the road? Maybe not but perhaps he is more useful helping KMag develop the car. I believe the feedback and input side is one of Nico's strengths, a talent I have never heard of in terms of Mick.

I hadn't thought of developing the car. You could well be right in that respect. I still think it's a shame for Mick though.

[Vassago]

Mick scored points in two of 41 races in his F1 career. If his last name wasn't Schumacher nobody would give a hoot about him. He's clearly not good enough to be in F1 long-term.

[Star]

Sadly, you're probably right. It's his name that has helped him get there and stay there as long as it has. I just think he's a nice guy in general is all and think it's a shame it's looking likely to be over for him.

[XcraigX]

So when is Danny gonna call? This feels disappointing...

[Everso Biggyballies]

So when is Danny gonna call? This feels disappointing...

The rumour doing the rounds atm is Danny as reserve, not at Mercedes, but Red Bull, (presummably with an eye of Sergio's seat for 2024.)

[Picci]

I really don’t know. Mick has been a late bloomer wherever he went and then once he got up to grips he seems to get on with it. I think he still needs another season to properly assess where he stands. If it were me I’d let him race another season.

[Everso Biggyballies]

STEINER OUT OF HAAS.... Replaced by Trackside Engineering Director Komatsu.

Didnt see this one. coming. I thought he was part of the furniture there. Clearly results have been bleak, but how much of that was the lack of funding and budget the car has always seemed to suffer. I guess ultimately attracting sponsors and partners is under the broad and all encompassing title of Team Principal.

It seems that it was the funding that was the final split.... there has been tension between Steiner and Mr Haas over team and technical direction . Steiner was asking for more investment in an effort to keep up with rivals spending heavily on updated factory infrastructure, while Haas wanted to focus on making more efficient use of the resources that his team already has at its disposal.

Of course with Haas finishing bottom of the table this last season will only compound the budgetary issues given the relatively menial incom from 10th over lower midfield positions. That in itself would have no doubt called for Haas to dig even deeper into his own pockets to fund the tam.

Steiner's contract was up for renewal at the end of the year, and team owner Gene Haas opted not to extend it.
Former technical director Simone Resta has also left the team in a decision that predates Steiner's departure.

The team says that Komatsu will be responsible for the team’s strategy and on-track performance.

In a statement, it noted that he will have “a brief to maximise the team’s potential through employee empowerment and structural process and efficiency”.

Komatsu will be supported on the organisational and commercial side by a yet-to-be-named new chief operating officer, who will focus on non-racing matters and probably be based at the UK facility in Banbury.
A sad day, and I will miss Guenther's direct and often controversial statements and eccentric behaviour. I am sure he will bounce back somewhere. Maybe given he has moved his family to the US to live he will stay within the US Motorsports structure..

Guenther Steiner has been replaced as Haas team principal, with Ayao Komatsu taking over the position.

Steiner has been in charge of Haas since the team’s inception in 2014, overseeing team principal duties for team owner Gene Haas. The team opted to delay its debut season until 2016 but enjoyed a sensational opening few rounds, picking up 22 of its 29 points in the first four races before finishing eighth in the constructors’ championship.

After a best finish of fifth overall in 2018, the popular team boss guided Haas through the COVID-19 pandemic and after a scoreless 2021 the team was again eighth in 2022. However, after slipping to the bottom of the constructors’ championship last season, team owner Haas has decided to replace Steiner with trackside engineering director Komatsu.

“I’d like to start by extending my thanks to Guenther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and I wish him well for the future,” Haas said. “Moving forward as an organization it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances. In appointing Ayao Komatsu as team principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management.

“We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organization. We need to be efficient with the resources we have but improving our design and engineering capability is key to our success as a team. I’m looking forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximize our potential — this truly reflects my desire to compete properly in Formula 1.”


Ayao Komatsu has served as Chief Race Engineer at Haas F1 since its launch, and has now been elevated to the team principal role.

Komatsu has also been with Haas since the team first joined the grid, and will be supported in his new role by a European-based chief operations officer that the team says will manage all non-competition matters and departments.

“I’m naturally very excited to have the opportunity to be team principal at MoneyGram Haas F1 Team,” Komatsu said.. “Having been with the team since its track debut back in 2016 I’m obviously passionately invested in its success in Formula 1. I’m looking forward to leading our program and the various competitive operations internally to ensure we can build a structure that produces improved on-track performances.

“We are a performance-based business. We obviously haven’t been competitive enough recently, which has been a source of frustration for us all. We have amazing support from Gene and our various partners, and we want to mirror their enthusiasm with an improved on-track product. We have a great team of people across Kannapolis, Banbury and Maranello and together I know we can achieve the kind of results we’re capable of.”

.https://racer.com/2024/01/10/steiner-ou ... principal/

[erwin greven]

I just read some 15 ago some snippets on Reddit and twitter, waiting for a confirmation. Seems more are leaving their function in Haas.