Ahead of the 2024 season, Haas became the first team to reveal their challenger. However, the VF-24, as they named it, does not have anything unique to talk about. There seems to be no major improvement compared to its predecessor – the VF-23. The design did not impress many fans and critics, and the outlook around it is also pessimistic.
Ayao Komatsu, their new team principal said that the VF-24 already had its preview with VF-23 when it came out in Austin. The new car is now the more realized version of the concept from last year. With this, he also asked everyone to reduce their expectations ahead of the next season.
The Haas boss revealed that they would start from the back of the grid. He said in a report by The Race,
“Out of the gates in Bahrain, I still think we’re going to be towards the back of the grid, if not last.”
Haas finished 2023 in last place with just 12 points. This was 25 points fewer than their 2022 haul when they finished in P8. Therefore, Gene Haas was naturally unhappy and sacked Steiner before the start of 2024.
The new car has the same front wing and highly-ramped sidepod as well as the same pushrod front suspension and pull-rod rear suspension design as seen during the 2023 United States Grand Prix. It does not have any physical constraints that will set itself differently from its predecessor, the VF-23.
Intricate details of the Haas VF-24
The new VF-24 sports a large USA flag on its nose-cone, signifying the team’s American identity. This is very prominent because they are still the only team from the country after F1 denied Andretti’s entry into the sport. The render of the car shows minute and less significant changes to its overall structure.
This is the first time the American team revealed their car, without Guenther Steiner in charge. They replaced him with Ayao Komatsu in search of better performance as owner Gene Haas aims to enter the midfield in the near future. Notably, it was not just Steiner who left the team, but also Simone Resta.
Resta, who worked for Ferrari in the past, was the technical director of the Haas F1 team until January 2024. All in all, the new VF-24 did little to impress fans and critics. The only noticeable coloring was the use of black in the livery. They have used more black color on the body of the car with Haas written boldly on the sidepod on each side.
