Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsOpinion

Haas achievement is 'tremendous' - Fernley

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Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley says what Haas has achieved so far in F1 is "tremendous" and does not want the new team to be criticised for its approach.

Haas' close technical partnership with Ferrari led to Mercedes requesting clarity from the FIA in Abu Dhabi last year to clarify what is and isn't allowed under the regulations. Haas and Ferrari were both cleared of any wrongdoing but loopholes which could have been exploited by other teams were closed off.

While Fernley has seen Haas hit the ground running this season and beat Force India in each of the opening two races, he is full of praise for the performance of the new team.

“I think it’s tremendous," Fernley told F1i. "They are a new team coming in, an extremely professional team, well-funded team. They tick all the boxes. Do I necessarily agree with the customer car side of it? No, but time will tell on that.

"There’s a long way to go yet and let’s look at where we are at the end of this season and again next season. But credit to them and well done, they’ve done a super job.”

And while Fernley doesn't believe other teams will be able to exactly follow the same model in future, he says Haas should not be criticised for making the most of its opportunities.

“I don’t think it can come back now. Those avenues have been closed off. Give them credit, let them get on with it, they’ve done a super job. They deserve all the credit that they’ve got.

"It’s not easy to come in here even with all the help they’ve had and deliver the results they've done. A very professional outfit. They’ll have their own challenges later!”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.