The 2023 season has not been ideal for Haas’ F1 team. Despite hoping to compete in the midfield, the American team has failed to achieve their objective. According to Speed Cafe, team principal Guenther Steiner knows the reason behind it and blames the division of their team’s facility for their shortcomings in F1.
After completing the 2021 season with rookies Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin where they claimed zero points, there were glimpses of hope. Last year the $780,000,000 worth American team seemed to have made a comeback and finished the season in P8 with 37 points to their name.
However, in 2023, things have not improved for them. They are still P8 in the standings, but have fewer points, and are having a quieter season overall. Team owner Gene Haas and boss Steiner have been wanting their team to be scoring points in every race since 2014. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened so far. Steiner for once, knows why.
Guenther Steiner pointed out Haas’ unique difficulty
Haas has their bases in three different countries and interestingly, they’re the only team to divide their facility this way. The Administrative headquarters is in Kannapolis in the US, the factory is in Banbury, UK and their aerodynamic and design team operates out of Maranello, Italy.
According to Steiner, this creates a problem for the entire team, preventing them from working in unison. Talking about this, the 58-year-old said when asked if having three different bases a problem, “It is, you cannot deny that.”
Following this, he said, “At the moment, our business model doesn’t do well with having everything in one place. So what we try to do is manage as best as possible.”
Speaking on a possible solution, the American-Italian boss said that there are short-term and mid-term solutions for this. Instead of having three bases, the entire team can have two important bases, one in Italy [for engine and aerodynamics], and one in the UK [for everything else].
Haas and its 2023 F1 season
Almost every F1 team has a facility where everything is done under one roof. Brackley for Mercedes, Milton-Keynes for Red Bull, and Maranello for Ferrari. These teams have bee operating seamlessly for years, operating out of one factory.
Furthermore, Aston Martin also got everything under one roof recently. However, apart from Haas, only Alpine has two bases. The chassis and managerial side of the team is in Enstone, but the engine side is based out of Viry-Chatillon in France. Nevertheless, Guenther Steiner is of the opinion that having everything under one roof is the best solution.
The American team is in P8 this season with 11 points. Only Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri are behind them in P9 and P10, respectively. The drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen are in P14 and P18 in the driver’s championship, respectively.
