Haas has launched the car which will compete in its first season without the leadership of former team boss Guenther Steiner.
Haas’ new car, dubbed the VF-24, sees the team lean more into a predominantly black look, which has become a trend across the F1 grid as teams strip away paint to save weight.
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The major departure from the 2023 model in terms of livery is that the nose of the car and the portions around the cockpit are now black, not white, although red remains on the front and rear wing.
The new season looks set to be a crucial one in the longer future of the Haas team, with Steiner, who led the team from its inception, not given a new contract by team boss Gene Haas after finishing last in the championship.
Steiner and team owner Gene Haas fundamentally disagreed on the direction of the team — Steiner felt Haas needed to invest more in personnel, equipment and facilities to keep up with the team’s rivals, while Haas has felt the team must do more with the existing level of resources.
Rookie team boss Ayao Komatsu will take the team into the new season, with drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg returning for a second season together as teammates.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the VF-24 running and racing — a sentiment I know I share with our partners and indeed the entire team,” Gene Haas, Chairman of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, said.
“In Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, we also know we’ve got a great pair of drivers behind the wheel, their experience will prove invaluable again as we develop our program through the year.
“We’ve used the off-season to put the processes in place to be better and ultimately improve our overall performance. Soon we get to see how we’re doing.”
Komatsu said the team should go into the new year with low expectations.
“Out of the gates in Bahrain, I still think we’re going to be towards the back of the grid, if not last,” he said in the press release unveiling the team’s new car for 2024.
Haas waited for much of 2023 to deliver a big car upgrade at the U.S. Grand Prix at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, but it did not yield the improvement the team had hoped…
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