Steiner explains Haas' downsized pit wall gantry

Haas produced a distinctively downsized pit wall gantry at the start of pre-season testing in Bahrain, and team boss Guenther Steiner explained the reason behind the new minimal structure.

F1 outfits typically erect pit wall gantries that seat a fleet of at least six engineers and team members who manage operations and devise strategies on race day.

Initially it was believed that Haas' three-person platform has been tailor-made for testing.

But Steiner confirmed that the pit wall station that will seat team manager Peter Crolla, trackside engineering director Ayao Komatsu and Steiner himself is in fact permanent for this season.

"It is," said Steiner. "When you need to make efficiency [savings] you look at everything.

"When you need money to invest in development, because we have the cost cap, where do you [make those savings?]

"Do you have six people out there [on the pit wall] or have a quarter of a million for car updates? I know what we are doing."

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Steiner suggested that the team's new smaller gantry could save Haas as much as $250,000 a year in freight costs, which is money that can be channeled into the Vf-23's development budget.

"The guys came up with the idea, and I said: 'If I need to stay inside, I have no problem in doing that', added the Italian.

"I don't need to be there and with three seats, we can cover what we need to cover and we rearrange.

"But it's mainly saving to put that money into development because you have the cost cap."

There are no small savings in Formula 1 for a clever team like Haas.

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