Wolff not nervous about possibly illegal Haas: 'That's a good job'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Haas F1 appeared fast at the start of the season. Immediately, therefore, critical eyes are focused on the team that was stiffly behind last year. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff and Alfa Romeo team boss Fréd Vasseur are not so worried yet.
The new car of Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen in 2022 looks a lot like the Ferrari. As a result, rumours have it that the Haas is an illegal imitation of the Ferrari F1-75. Whether the car is illegal is difficult to determine and can only be ruled out by the FIA. However, the Haas does have the same engine as the Ferrari, the same suspension and the same gearbox. This is not illegal and partly explains why both teams are so fast this year.
Wolff and Vasseur do not sound concerned
For Wolff, it's a strange sight. Last year his team still took the constructors' title and now they're in the same regions as Haas. Bild.de quotes Wolff: "They have made a fascinating step. This is something for us to learn from. We have 2,000 employees and were successful with that. Suddenly we are fighting with a team that is much smaller. That's a good job by them." The team boss of Alfa Romeo - which also runs itself with a Ferrari engine - Vasseur is not worried much either: "We have confidence in the [scrutiny of the, ed.] FIA."
Bild additionally reports that the Haas team itself has little concern, and that rival teams think it is on the edge of the grey area. However, they still seem curious about the cooperation between the teams in the wind tunnel. Indeed, cooperation in that area is prohibited, but Haas does use the same wind tunnel as Ferrari. Haas has also moved to a new location; in Maranello, where Ferrari is also located.