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Since entering F1 in 2016, Haas has enjoyed a strong relationship with Ferrari, taking the power unit from the Scuderia and a raft of listed parts allowed under the regulations.
Throughout its eight seasons and 166 grands prix in F1, however, Haas has yet to finish on the podium. Its best result was when Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen finished fourth and fifth in the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix.
In a week when Haas was forced to axe team principal Guenther Steiner in a bid to take the team in a more engineering-led direction, the 71-year-old American feels it is high time they proved their worth to Ferrari.
“Ferrari has been very good to us,” said Haas. “They have been with us since day one, they build incredible engines. Their suspension is extremely good. We have been using a lot of their hardware. It works really well.
“They really do help us. I’m embarrassed that we haven’t been able to do better with it but going forward, I want to take advantage of good equipment that a lot of other teams don’t have.
“Things are going to get a lot more competitive. Red Bull has AlphaTauri (soon to be rebranded as Racing Bulls), and we’re starting to see these relationships evolve.
“I think the competition is going to be very intense, so having a partner like Ferrari is going to be very important.”
That is a clear hint that Haas intends to continue with Ferrari when the new engine regulations come into force in 2026.
Williams’ recent announcement that it has signed a five-year contract extension to continue with Mercedes power through to 2030 leaves Haas as the only team on the grid yet to confirm its plans from 2026 onwards.
Haas, though, has stated he will be “very happy to stay with Ferrari”.
He added: “I hope we can help them in terms of reliability. Going forward, when Sauber drops Ferrari power (in 2026 when Audi take over), we will be Ferrari’s only user.
“They might want to pick up a customer or two. Maybe they’ll be happy with us. But we have got to do better. We can’t be running so far behind Ferrari. We need to be closer to them.”
Haas has no doubt his team has all the right ingredients to deliver a performant car that can deliver results regularly.
Doubts remain, however, when you consider that a major upgrade package delivered ahead of the United States Grand Prix proved such a failure that Nico Hulkenberg opted to drive with the old spec of car.
Haas is adamant, though, he has “a great formula” for success, adding: “We have Ferrari engines which probably have more power than anybody right now. We have Ferrari hardware, we have a good chassis.
“I talk to a lot of the engineers and I think our biggest failing is aero – our aero programme needs work.
“When you’re at the track and you’re humiliated every weekend, I’m going to stop taking that one anymore.”
