Haas is targeting a further Formula 1 upgrade package for the VF-24 at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, echoing the timing of its biggest update last season.
While the development is set to inform the engineering direction for next year’s car, it is unlikely to be the same kind of upgrade as in 2023, when the American-owned team radically changed its concept to an outwash aerodynamic solution. Haas picked up the wooden spoon in last season’s standings; its change of direction for round 19 at Austin arguably came too late to have a substantial impact on its campaign.
One of the priorities for new team principal, Ayao Komatsu, when he replaced Guenther Steiner at the start of this year was to bring more upgrades to the track sooner. The idea behind this approach was to give Haas a better chance at keeping pace with its rivals in the bottom half of the table. ?I would say that?s something we still need to work quite hard on,? Komatsu said at pre-season testing, referring to Haas? pace of producing new parts. ?I don?t think our lead time is one of the best in the field.?
A quicker rate of progress for the team, which spreads its operations between Banbury in the United Kingdom and Maranello in Italy, was achieved this season. It rolled out a suite of five performance-related updates to round five in China. That was topped up with front and rear end changes for Imola, before another comprehensive package arrived in time for round 12 at Silverstone.
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