Haas have become the first team on the F1 grid to reveal their 2024 challenger with the sport’s only American team sporting a fresh new design as they look to avoid consecutive P10 Constructors’ Championship finishes.
The Kannapolis-based team have opted for a relatively similar design to their 2023 challenger, the VF-23, with their new car for the 2024 campaign. Even the name follows suit – the VF-24. There is also, once again, a heavy presence of title sponsor MoneyGram’s logos.
Haas have only released renders of their new machinery thus far, but the second stage of their two-part launch will take place on 11 February, when the VF-23 hits the track at Silverstone for a shakedown.
Owner Gene Haas offered his thoughts on the launch, stating: “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.
“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.”
2024 is expected to be a transitional year for the Haas F1 Team, who parted ways with popular team principal Guenther Steiner in January after eight years in partnership.
Steiner is being replaced by former lead engineer Ayao Komatsu, who offered a frank assessment of the team’s position heading into pre-season testing.
“Out of the gates in Bahrain, I still think we’re going to be towards the back of the grid, if not last,” he stated, before giving an insight into how Haas plan to move forward in 2024.
He added: “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.”
