While its race form hasn’t been able to match that due in essence to excessive tyre usage, that one-lap pace has been impressive and it has been sustained even in the context of a tight development race, with all teams regularly bringing new parts.
Haas hasn’t always been able to keep up with its rivals over the course of a season, and the fact that it has in 2023 reflects the healthy budget that the team now has.
That was signalled earlier this year when for the first time team boss Gunther Steiner talked about the necessity to work within the cost cap, which previously was out of reach.
Now that the team is bouncing up against the limit it has to keep a lid on things like freight costs, which was why at the start of the season its move to a smaller pitwall “prat perch” became a public symbol of the new attention to detail.
The jump from 10th in the world championship in 2021 to eighth last year and the associated prize money hike has added to the spending pot, but Haas has an increased budget this year thanks in large part to the support of title partner MoneyGram.
While Gene Haas has never shied away from spending what it takes to run the team at a competitive level, significant extra outside backing has always been welcome.
However, he hasn’t had a lot of luck with major sponsors in recent seasons, with the Rich Energy and Uralkali experiences both ending amid some acrimony, albeit in different circumstances.
However in MoneyGram Haas and Steiner have found a partner that not only provides useful extra funding but it easy to work with and brings a lot more to the table than hard cash.
“They are using F1 very well, promoting their product via all the activities they do outside the F1 programme,” says Steiner. “You can see they've got a good plan in place.”
MoneyGram is a textbook example of a US corporation seeing the commercial benefits of an involvement in F1 boosted worldwide by Drive to Survive. In addition, its customers are ordinary people and thus its presence is more relatable to fans than some of the B2B businesses or financial companies that are prominent on cars these days.
Source: Autosport