Who will be driving for Haas in Formula 1?
Driver duo Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were not given new contracts for 2021. Instead, Haas opted for an all-rookie driver line-up for 2021. However, with the conflict in Ukraine, Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen will take the reigns in 2022.
The first driver is the son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher. Although he has yet to show his full potential in Formula 1, past performances have shown him to be an excellent driver. He won the 2020 Formula 2 World Championship and has shown his qualities in other years as well.
Mazepin was unknown at the start of the racing year. The Russian failed to reach a high level last season and underperformed compared to Schumacher. However, the criticism wasn’t enough for Haas to swap him for another talented driver. However, due to the conflict in Ukraine, Haas ended their ties with Mazepin after the first pre-season test. They signed Kevin Magnussen.
Bad boys on the grid
Whereas Formula One teams frequently had to throw in the towel in 2016 due to the financial pressures of the racing class, that's when Haas' project took off. The American team was then already a familiar name across the ocean in NASCAR, but the Formula One World Championship was new territory.
He looked at the failing teams and highlighted the problem. Making all the parts simply cost too much money. His solution? Outsource everything to keep production costs down. The team bought many parts from Ferrari, rather than having their own production line. Everything simply had to make way for performance.
Italian Dallara made the chassis and compatriot Ferrari supplied the power unit to Haas. Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez were the drivers for Haas. The duo put the team on the map right from the start.
From the very first race that Haas appeared on the grid (the 2016 Australian Grand Prix), smaller teams complained about Haas' working methods. Sourcing parts from Ferrari and Dallara gave a racing team little identity and was more like being a sister of a bigger team. Haas quietly got on with what they were doing: scoring points.
Magnussen replaced Gutierrez in 2017 and with the new duo, Haas seemed to slowly improve. Throughout the season, both drivers picked up points, but the end result was the same as the first season: P8 in the constructors' standings.
Best of the rest
In 2018, Haas appeared confident at the start of the Australian GP. Under the watchful eye of team boss Steiner, both drivers managed to secure a fine starting position and Haas seemed to be on their way to double points. Two failed pitstops later, Haas had only two DNFs and a long period of disappointing results from Grosjean began.
Halfway through the season the turnaround finally came and, thanks to Magnussen, Haas had already collected more points than in the entire previous season. They hoped to beat Renault to secure P4 in the Constructors' standings, but it just didn't work out. Nevertheless, the Americans finished fifth in only the team's third year in Formula One.
In 2019, Haas partnered with Rich Energy. The energy drink manufacturer wanted to compete with Red Bull, but Steiner's Formula One team could not get close to Max Verstappen's team. In the end, Rich Energy left Haas before all the races in 2019 were completed.
In 2019, Steiner's team suddenly fell backwards. The speed was still there at times in qualifying, but in the race Grosjean and Magnussen were constantly sinking like a brick. The problem appeared to be in the design of the car and so the team quickly opted to focus on 2020. The car made a step forward, however, it was Ferrari that left something to be desired with the engine.
As a result, they were often at the rear in 2020, eventually scoring only three points and finishing ninth. The following year, they fared even worse, failing to score a single point. However, the focus was soon on 2022, so the pressure on Haas' performance is greater than ever. For Schumacher in particular, it means he has to show what he's got this year, if only to save the team.
Which engine will Haas use?
As a customer team of Ferrari, Haas F1 drives with the Italian's power unit. In 2022, the American team will appear on the grid with the same specification engine as Ferrari. The American team uses the same fuel supplier as Ferrari, namely Shell.
