First Look: Haas F1 Team Reveals VF-24; Predicts 'Towards the Back of the Grid' Start to Season

• Haas’ VF-24, which as with its predecessor will feature extensive branding from title partner MoneyGram, was revealed online on Friday.

• The Haas F1 Team is going forward this year without its long-time team principal Guenther Steiner, who departed during the offseason and was replaced by internal hire Ayao Komatsu.

• Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg remain as Haas’ race drivers.

Haas F1 Team has a new car and a new team principal, but is expecting the same old results at the back of the Formula 1 grid to start the 2024 season after presenting the VF-24 on Friday.

Haas slumped to the foot of the 10-team championship in 2023 amid year-long struggles with its VF-23.

Long-time team principal Guenther Steiner, who had led the team since its first season on track in 2016, was let go during the off-season, replaced by Ayao Komatsu, while technical chief Simone Resta has also left the team. Resta has been replaced by former chief designer Andrea de Zordo.

Damien Brayshaw has taken on the newly-created position of performance director.

Haas’ VF-24, which as with its predecessor will feature extensive branding from title partner MoneyGram, was revealed online on Friday, ahead of its planned first outing at a shakedown at Silverstone on February 11.

The first race of the season is scheduled for (Saturday) March 2 in Bahrain.

Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg remain as Haas’ race drivers while long-term reserve Pietro Fittipaldi has been joined by Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman as a back-up driver.

Bearman will participate in six practice sessions for Haas across 2024, providing an extensive program for the promising 18-year-old Briton, who will race in Formula 2 again this season.

Komatsu has cautioned that Haas’ decision to introduce a substantial upgrade package for its VF-23 in late 2023 will help the team long-term at the expense of its short-term prospects.

“Out of the gates in Bahrain, I still think we’re going to be towards the back of the grid, if not last,” said Komatsu. “Since I’ve become team principal, I’ve spent a lot of time talking to managers—both in the UK and Italy—and they’re excited because it’s an opportunity to improve and there are areas of improvement everywhere.

“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. 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.

“If we hadn’t done it (the Austin update) and then had a huge surprise come preseason testing, it would’ve hurt us immensely. It was a difficult balance, and doing the Austin package means the VF-24 launch car may not be as advanced as it could be, but at the same time we have better confidence in what we’re putting out on track now.

“We’re all realistic that our launch car in Bahrain will not necessarily turn heads, but our concentration and focus is to work with the VF-24, understand the car, and then define the correct pathway to upgrade the car.”

Launch Schedule for Other F1 Teams

The presentation of Haas’ VF-24 kickstarts Formula 1’s traditional launch season, with the remaining nine teams due to unveil their programs across the next two weeks.

Williams will launch its 2024 season in New York Monday (February 5) with the Stake-branded Sauber due to present its C44 at London’s Guildhall the same day.

Alpine will hold a season launch at its Enstone factory Wednesday (February 7) while the rebranded RB team will unveil its new look in Las Vegas Thursday night (February 8).

Aston Martin (February 12), Ferrari (February 13), McLaren and Mercedes (February 14) and defending champions Red Bull (February 15) will launch the following week.

Preseason testing will run February 21-23 in Bahrain.