Haas Reveal new F1 Car

Haas Racing

Haas have revealed their first F1 car, the VF-16 - and immediately targeted scoring points during their debut season.

F1's first US-owned outfit for 30 years revealed a striking grey, black and red livery for their debut season. The VF in the car's name stands for 'Very First'.

"Our goal with this car is to score points," said team boss Guenther Steiner. "First, we need to go out there and show that we can do the job, that we can finish races, that we are respected by the fans and other teams in the paddock.

"Then, we want to score points. That is the ultimate goal."

Much of the design work on the VF-16 was carried out at Ferrari's Maranello base, with Haas's technical partnership allowing them access to the Scuderia's wind tunnel and simulator.

The chassis itself was also built in Italy by Dallara and it will be powered by a 2016 Ferrari power unit, mounted to a current-spec gearbox from the Scuderia.

"We have very experienced designers who worked hard to develop all the little things from an aerodynamic perspective that, collectively, add up to a lot," added Steiner.

"And our technical partner, Ferrari, provided our power unit, and that really defined the rear end of the car and how big it needed to be."

Former Lotus driver and 10-time podium finisher Romain Grosjean has been signed to spearhead Haas' debut campaign, with Mexico's Esteban Gutierrez returning to an F1 race seat after year in a reserve role at Ferrari.

Discussing Haas' partnership with Ferrari, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said it's "clearly a very intelligent way of entering Formula 1" which "opens up an avenue for new models of collaboration".

Who's who at Haas in 2016

Team owner Gene Haas

COO Joe Custer

CMO Adam Jacobs

Team principal Guenther Steiner

Team manager / sporting director Dave O'Neill

Chief race engineer Ayao Komatsu

Chief designer Rob Taylor

Chief Aerodynamicist Ben Agathangelou

Race drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez

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Grosjean a Nutcase - Webber

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An angry Mark Webber has branded Romain Grosjean a "first-lap nutcase" and intimated that the Frenchman should receive another race ban after his Japanese GP was wrecked by the Lotus driver.

Just three races on from receiving the first race suspension in Formula 1 for 18 years for causing a start-line pile-up at Spa, Grosjean was involved in his seventh first-lap incident of the season at Suzuka on Sunday when he punted the back of Webber's front-row starting Red Bull as the field navigated the first two corners.

The contact spun Webber onto the grass, and prompted an unscheduled visit to the pits at the end of the lap for repairs. After battling back to finish ninth at the chequered flag Webber expressed his considerable ire with Grosjean to Sky Sports F1's Natalie Pinkham.

"I haven't seen what happened at the start but the guys confirmed it was the first-lap nutcase again Grosjean," Webber said.

"The rest of us are trying to fight for some decent results each weekend but he's trying to get to the third corner as fast as he can at every race.

"It makes it frustrating because a few big guys obviously suffered from that today. Maybe he needs another holiday."

Asked by Natalie if he thought the FIA needed to intervene again, the Australian continued: "He needs to have a look at himself obviously. It was completely his fault. How many mistakes can you make, how many times can you make the same error with first lap incidents?

"It's quite embarrassing at this level for him."

Webber's team boss Christian Horner also delivered an immediate rebuke of Grosjean's driving, describing the Frenchman's actions as "crazy".

"We feel that we really missed out with Mark," Horner told Sky Sports F1. "A crazy move at turn two by Grosjean and that effectively ended Mark's race.

"I think the most concerning thing is when it is repeat incidents. If you make mistakes that's fine but the most important thing is to learn from them."

Horner also suggested that Grosjean's Lotus bosses would be far from impressed with his lack of care given it continues to cost the team crucial points.

"He's hosing away points for his team. They're fighting in the Constructors' Championship. I would be surprised if they were impressed by that," he said.

"Seven incidents this year is more than enough and Mark was the victim of the action today and it cost him for sure at least a podium."