Gene Haas has admitted that it would have been better off buying an existing Formula 1 team instead of building a new team from scratch, and revealed that he went against the suggestions of F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone to create the Haas F1 Team.
“Bernie [Ecclestone] was always saying ‘why don’t you just buy an existing team?’, which was actually a better idea because there were only 10 teams at the time so economically it would’ve been a lot more beneficial,” said Haas to Autosport.
“Bernie was probably right because there are so many advantages when you’re a top 10 team.”
Haas F1 have a had a strong start in Formula 1, scoring points with Romain Grosjean on four occasions, but have fallen of the pace in recent races, with the lack of development leaving Haas ruing the decision not to buy into an existing team which would have given the team a stable platform. The financial implication of finishing outside the top 10 has also been a major factor in Haas’ admission that he should have followed Ecclestone’s advice.
“Not only do you get ‘column A’ money but you also get freight and airline tickets for the team,” he said. “There is a lot of financial help for the teams once they’ve been established.”
Haas F1 have reduced costs by using Ferrari as their main supplier of engines and other major components. This has left the paddock concerned they are only performing well due to the Ferrari performance.
