The recent celebration of its 150th race may be well behind Ferrari’s tally of 1060 but, if the calendar keeps going the way it is, then by 2025 it should be ready to eclipse March and BRM’s tally of 197 starts.
Considering more than 160 teams (either individual entities or names) have raced in F1, that Haas has done so much but still remains the new kid on the block says its own story about both the difficulties fresh squads face in surviving grand prix racing’s trials, but also the resilience of the American-owned outfit.
If we select teams from the moment they started from scratch (rather than changed ownership or names), then we have to go an awfully long way back to find new operations that are still running.
The current Mercedes squad has its roots traced back to BAR, which began competing in 1999. Red Bull evolved from Stewart which made its debut in 1997, while Sauber, which joined the grid in 1993, is currently racing under the Alfa Romeo banner.
Even F1’s official newest team – Aston Martin – has a lineage that goes back to Jordan GP which began life in 1991.
Haas’s staying power is a great success and comes against the backdrop of plenty of other new team failures over recent decades – including USF1, Lotus/Caterham, Virgin/Marussia, HRT, Toyota, Super Aguri, Forti, Simtek and Pacific.
Steiner believes that there are a host of factors that have allowed Haas to survive while other new teams did not last the duration. Key for him is the full support it has had from Gene Haas, who has helped bankroll the operation through the highs and lows.
Source: Autosport