'We've changed everything except the pedals' - Steiner

©Haas

40

Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has highlighted how much work the squad had been into its sophomore entry into Formula One, explaining that virtually every aspect of this year's VF-17 had been changed and improved upon compared to last year's entry.

“I think the pedal box is the same, but all the rest is very different from last year’s car,” said Steiner as the team unveiled its new chassis on Sunday ahead of four days of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this week.

“You always try to make a faster car, which is normally a lighter car. Now we can put on more ballast and get better weight distribution," he explained.

"The aero is completely new, as are the tires, so we needed to have some built-in adjustability.

"Aesthetically, the car has a more aggressive look. It’s lighter and more aerodynamically efficient. Everything we learned from our first car has been applied to our new car."

Haas officially introduces the VF-17!

Many of the changes have been mandated by new downforce and aerodynamic rules that are being introduced into the sport this season resulting in a wider front wing, larger barge boards, a lower and wider rear wing and a diffuser that expands 50 millimetres in height and width along with wider Pirelli tyres.

While the colours from last year's car have been retained, the styling is different: the majority of the livery is dark grey, with tones of red, black, white and light gray incorporating the look of Haas Automation’s complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centres, turning centres and rotary tables and indexers.

The VF-17 will take part in the first official test session of the year beginning on Monday February 27 with a second four-day session the following week from March 7, before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix March 26 in Melbourne.

GALLERY: F1 drivers' wives and girlfriends

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

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.