The origin of Haas’s 2018 Formula 1 car came under fire during the Australian Grand Prix weekend, as critics queried the validity of its technical relationship with Ferrari. Force India and McLaren called for an investigation into the Haas-Ferrari collaboration to ensure the restrictions put in place on aerodynamic development are being adhered to.
“The performance of a Formula 1 car is down to the aero and the aero on the Haas is significantly different,” said Craig Scarborough, as reported by motorsport.com earlier today – “You’re looking at areas like the bargeboards, the X-vanes – these shutter-like things that go up the side of the sidepods – they’re very different from the Ferrari’s. Even the halo treatment is completely different to Ferrari’s with all these little vortex generators above and below it. It’s just an independent project. You can find things that are similar to the Ferrari but equally you can find Ferrari ideas on the Mercedes, the Red Bull, up and down the grid.” – Formula One journalist and Technical Expert Craig Scarborough explained.
He also adds that the “unusual” scenario of mistakes being made in both pitstops, after Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were forced into retirement with improperly-fitted wheels after running fourth and fifth in the opening stint: “The wheel already has the wheelnut spinning inside it. You’ve got to get that wheel perfectly lined up over the axle. Then, when the wheel gun comes in if the nut tightens up, everything tightens up. But if that wheel is slightly misaligned and the nut starts to be tightened by these really powerful wheel guns, it’s just going to chew the nut over the thread and the whole thing won’t connect properly.” – Craig Scarborough concluded.
Leave a Reply