Gene Haas: “It’s a lot more complicated than expected”

After a rather positive assessment at the end of the first week of winter testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, ​​Haas F1 Team is accumulating problems, notably with turbo problems having limited its running to 24 laps over the last two days.

If the American team benefits from a solid partnership with the Team Ferrari, she now understands the difficulty that awaits her for her first season at the highest level of the car.

“It’s not North Carolina, I came to find out”, commented Gene Haas, the owner of the team of the same name, in the paddock of the Spanish circuit, referring to his facilities used in Nascar. “The complexity of cars and engines and what they do with them, it's all a lot more complicated than I thought. »

“The technical aspects of these single-seaters are fascinating. It's a challenge to take on but I don't think the spectators understand the level of complexity. I was also a little naive about what powered these machines. I feel a little overwhelmed”, added the American businessman.

Despite these negative comments, Gene Haas has already faced other challenges, notably managing to set up one of the largest Nascar Sprint Cup teams. “We started in 2002 and the first years were a little harder than what we are experiencing at the moment. We started from scratch in building this team but I am aware that the learning process could prove very difficult”, admitted the head of Haas F1 Team.