Boullier: “The Haas is 100% a Ferrari”

McLaren returned to the Top 5 at the Australian GP last week, taking advantage of its new partnership with Renault came to replace Honda. The Woking team nevertheless benefited from the double abandonment of the Haas VF-18 which seemed able to keep the MCL33 of Fernando Alonso.

Éric Boullier, McLaren Team Principal, assured AUTOhebdo that he was not surprised by Haas’ performance F1 Team at the Australian GP. The British structure is not preparing to face the American single-seaters this season.

“We can’t speak of surprise, declared the Frenchman. Considering the level at which Ferrari was playing last year, it's not surprising that they have a good car. AUTOhebdo readers must be reminded from time to time that, under the Haas body, it is 100% a Ferrari! At Haas, we don't build, we buy an existing car. And when the basis comes from Maranello, she can’t be bad…”

For his part, Haas Team Principal Günther Steiner was clear. The Italian responded to BBC Sport that the critics “speak without intelligence and without knowledge”. The atmosphere is already tense even in the middle of the peloton.

Discover the full interview with Éric Boullier and the analysis of the Australian GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2158 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version on all platforms and on kiosks.