Haas F1 Team unveils its VF-18

Haas F1 Team took everyone by surprise. The American team remained the only one with Force India not to have indicated a presentation date for its car 2018. The Kannapolis (North Carolina) structure finally skipped the simple date stage, to publish the first images of its VF-18 this Wednesday.

Bigger. Better. Faster. Lighter.

Introducing, the # VF18. pic.twitter.com/sMhqW8WpQ8

- Haas F1 Team (@ HaasF1Team) 14th February 2018

The Halo device is one of the new features integrated into the new American car, which also features an engine hood without a prominent shark fin. The livery sports a predominantly gray coat, with a red and black muzzle.

“The livery is a bit of a return to what we had on our first car, the VF-16, admits Günther Steiner, Team Principal of Haas F1 Team. The biggest part of the car's evolution was the addition of the Halo.

Aerodynamicists had to do a lot of study, and designers had to work hard to modify the chassis so that the halo could handle the prescribed loads. The overall minimum weight of the car has increased because of the Halo, and there is a higher center of gravity simply because of the device's position. But, everyone is in the same boat.

The regulations remained rather stable between 2017 and 2018, so the VF-18 is an evolution of our car compared to last year. It’s less about reinvention and more about refinement. You see elements that we had from last year on this year's car.

Our 2017 car was pretty good, but we didn't always get the most out of it, and that's what we intended to change in 2018. We made the car as light as possible to carry more ballast. We're able to do a better job putting the weight where we want it. »

Romain Grosjean et Kevin Magnussen will be the pilots of the VF-18, still powered by the Power Unit Ferrari, in its most recent version, with boss Gene Haas hoping to reduce the gap with the top teams.

“We eliminated a lot of variables where we knew we were weak, comments the American. We focused on what we're going to have to do to make our car consistent and close that gap with the top teams. » Haas hopes to see its cars get back to within half a second of Ferrari this season.

>>>>> Haas VF-18 photos <<<<