Haas has announced that it will unveil the livery of its 2024 car next week, with digital renders of its VF-24 contender released next Friday on February 2 at 14:00 UK time.
Following the US outfit’s virtual presentation, the VF-24 will make its physical debut with a shakedown at Silverstone on February 11th, before embarking on another filming day run in Bahrain ahead of the start of pre-season testing at Sakhir on February 21.
After undergoing a significant winter overhaul that saw the departure of team principal Guenther Steiner and technical director Simone Resta, Haas enters a new era under the leadership of Ayao Komatsu.
However, the team’s driver line-up remains unchanged with Haas entrusting its cars once again to Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, with the pair’s presence providing a sense of stability and continuity amid its changes.
Although Haas’ 2023 charger displayed impressive one-lap pace on occasion, the car’s performance in race trim was persistently undermined by tyre degradation issues.
Whole sale aerodynamic changes introduced at the US Grand Prix in Austin did little to solve the team’s plight.
While Komatsu expressed some optimism about the progress made during the off-season, he cautioned against expecting a dramatic step forward in performance right away.
He acknowledged that Haas' sluggish start to its 2024 development programme would likely limit any immediate gains and that the team would need time to fully integrate the new concept and address any remaining weaknesses.
“The ’24 car is a clear step,” he said. “But whether it is good enough against the competition to start off with? I don’t believe so because we started so late.
“We changed the concept so late as well and then by actually doing the Austin update, we diverted our resources a little bit. So, I’m realistic about the car we put out in Bahrain, but not in a negative manner.”
With all 10 F1 teams having now confirmed their launch dates, the opening two weeks of February will be packed with exciting unveilings and shakedowns. Stay tuned…
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
