The colour scheme of the VF-24, as introduced by the American team, showcases minimal deviations from that of the VF-23, its 2023 season predecessor. The most notable modification is on the upper nose area, which has transitioned to a predominantly black hue from last year’s white. This adjustment gives the car a darker overall appearance when compared to the VF-23.
Although Haas has only made digital images of the VF-24’s livery available, the team plans to debut the actual car in a shakedown event at Silverstone on February 11.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the VF-24 running and racing – a sentiment I know I share with our partners and indeed the entire team,” said Gene Haas, the Haas F1 team’s owner and chairman.
“In Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, we also know we’ve got a great pair of drivers behind the wheel.
“Their experience will prove invaluable again as we develop our programme through the year.
“We’ve used the off-season to put the processes in place to be better and ultimately improve our overall performance. Soon we get to see how we’re doing.”
The most notable news of Haas’s off-season was the departure of Guenther Steiner, the team’s long-serving team principal and de facto co-founder.
Steiner’s position was taken over by Ayao Komatsu, the former director of engineering at Haas, after Gene Haas decided not to renew Steiner’s contract following the end of the 2023 season.
The previous season proved challenging for Haas, with the team regressing from an eighth-place finish in 2022 to the bottom of the standings in 2023. This downturn was largely attributed to unresolved issues with tyre management during races, a problem linked to the aerodynamic design of the VF-23 car.
In a statement from the Haas team, Komatsu expressed a grounded outlook for the VF-24’s initial performance, stating the team is “realistic about our expectations for the VF-24 to start,” while also adding, it’s still an exciting moment in any F1 season to showcase the [livery]”.
But in a frank admission, he stated that he expects Haas “out of the gates in Bahrain [when the sole test and first race will take place]… I still think we’re going to be towards the back of the grid, if not last”.
Komatsu attributes this to the allocation of resources towards the team’s late-season upgrade package for 2023, unveiled in Austin, which unfortunately did not enhance the performance of their 2023 car nor address its primary problems. This diversion of resources negatively impacted the development of the VF-24.
“The reason our launch-spec car is not going to be quick enough in Bahrain is not because of the quality of the people we have here, but it’s because we started late and then we stopped for two months to do the Austin upgrade,” said Komatsu.
“It really diverted resource, so we lost time there, but the team is finding good gains in the wind tunnel so that’s positive and in terms of characteristics, it’s going in the right direction.
“The focus is to have a good test program for Bahrain so that we come away from the test having quality data for the team to analyse and understand which direction to develop the car.
“This means understanding the strength and weakness of the VF-24 accurately, then put a coherent plan together to produce updates on the car, which hasn’t happened previously.”
Haas has also revealed the promotion of Andrea De Zordo, previously the chief designer, to the position of technical director. This move comes after Simone Resta vacated the role, concluding his secondment from Ferrari at the end of the previous year.
The team is currently in the process of finding a successor for De Zordo’s former role as chief designer. However, it is anticipated that Haas will fill this position by promoting someone from within its Formula 1 organisation.
Source: Autosport
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