After the introduction of the Formula 1 budget cap in 2020, Scuderia Ferrari decided to move a number of staff members to work with its customer Haas squad as it looks to divert resources in order to remain withing the budget limit.
This also meant the creation of a ‘Haas hub’ in Maranello, out of which the new Haas VF-22 car was designed by a team led by former Ferrari senior designer Simone Resta.
The American team hopes to be able to significantly improve after a very difficult 2021 championship in which Haas had to settle for last place in the constructors’ championship without scoring any points. However, Haas was aware of this scenario as they willingly decided to focus only on the project for the 2022 season.
Motorsport engineer Guenther Steiner confirmed that the relationship between Haas and Ferrari had not changed despite the opening of the Maranello office, adding that it was a simple call to make the most of this chance:
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“The relationship I would say hasn’t changed dramatically, we’ve always had a good relationship. The relationship is also regulated by the FIA’s rules. You cannot do more just because we are sitting in Maranello. It was convenient, there were offices available because of the budget cap coming in, and Ferrari had already planned the buildings. We took advantage that there was office space available, and we have about 30 to 35 people from Ferrari which moved over to us because of the budget cap in Formula 1. But the relationship, the collaboration hasn’t changed [for] better or worse. It’s very much the same. It’s just now we are sitting now inside Maranello with a large group of people. We always had people in the wind tunnel office, because we have got two offices now in Maranello, one in the wind tunnel and one where the designers and the aerodynamicists are in the week. But when we are in the wind tunnel session, we always had an office that our people could sit down in and not have to stand around just in the control room of the wind tunnel.” – the Haas boss explained.
Since making its Formula 1 debut six years ago, Haas has based its model on taking as many components as possible from Scuderia Ferrari as allowed by the current rules, which helped them reduce its own costs and streamline operations. This was also Haas’ approach for the development of its 2022 Formula One car, that was presented a few days ago, but will be fully unveiled when it hits the track at the start of pre-season testing in Spain:
“From a supply parameter point of view, we try to maximise all opportunities with Ferrari,” said Simone Resta, who is the technical director at Haas – “We are the smallest team on the grid, so therefore for us, it’s important to try and maximise those opportunities. The regulations have changed in a measurable way between last year and this year with the new component specification etc. So actually you can purchase fewer things from Ferrari, in a slightly different parameter. But yes, in short, we are trying to take everything that is possible within the technical regulations.” – Simone Resta concluded.
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