Haas launch new car, the VF-24, for 2024 Formula One season

Haas has launched the car which will compete in its first season without the leadership of former team boss Guenther Steiner.

Haas' new car, dubbed VF-24, sees the team move more towards a predominantly black look, which has become a trend on the F1 grid as teams strip away paint to save weight.

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The major difference from the 2023 model in terms of livery is that the nose of the car and parts around the cockpit are now black and not white, although red remains on the front and rear wing.

The new season promises to be crucial in the long-term future of the Haas team, as Steiner, who led the team since its inception, did not get a new contract from crew chief Gene Haas after finishing last in the championship.

Steiner and team owner Gene Haas fundamentally disagreed over the direction of the team. Steiner felt that Haas needed to invest more in personnel, equipment and facilities to keep pace with the team's rivals, while Haas felt the team needed to do more with the existing standard. of resources.

Rookie team boss Ayao Komatsu will take the team into the new season, with drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg returning for a second season together as teammates.

“I can’t wait to see the VF-24 ride and race – a feeling I share with our partners and with the entire team,” said Gene Haas, president of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team.

“With Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen we also know we have two excellent drivers behind the wheel, their experience will once again prove invaluable as we develop our program throughout the year.

“We took advantage of the offseason to put the processes in place to be better and ultimately improve our overall performance. Soon we will be able to see how we are doing.”

Komatsu said the team should enter the new year with low expectations.

“Coming out of the gates in Bahrain, I still think we will be at the back of the grid, if not last,” he said in the press release unveiling the team's new car for 2024.

Haas waited until much of 2023 to deliver a big car upgrade at the United States Grand Prix at Austin's Circuit of the Americas, but it didn't deliver the improvement the team was hoping for .

Komatsu said this upgrade delayed the team's progress heading into the new season.

He added: “The reason our launch car won't be fast enough in Bahrain is not because of the quality of people we have here, but it's because we started late and then we We stopped for two months to do the Austin upgrade.

“It really diverted resources so we lost time there, but the team is making good gains in the wind tunnel so that's positive and in terms of features it's going in the right direction.”

Komatsu then hinted at his dislike of the team's previous processes and said his Haas would take a completely new approach to analyzing its position following pre-season testing in Bahrain, which takes place the week before the same venue does not host the opening race.

“The goal is to have a good testing program for Bahrain so that we come away from testing with quality data that the team can analyze and understand in which direction to develop the car. This means accurately understanding the strength and the weakness of the VF-24., and then to develop a coherent plan to produce updates on the car, which had not happened before.

“The drivers will also play a more important role. Last year, in terms of subjective feedback from the drivers, their understanding of the car's weaknesses was clear, however, we were unable to reflect this in our development program for the car. car.”

“With the changes we have made within the team, we aim to solve this problem with our drivers more in the loop of development paths so that nothing is lost. As engineers, we have all the data from many sensors, but the only thing we can do.” What we need to do is drive the car and feel what's happening. We must therefore be able to better understand and react to pilot feedback.”