The new Haas team has set a goal of scoring points in its first year in Formula One.
Haas is the first all-new F1 team to join the grid since Lotus Racing, Virgin and HRT joined in 2010 and the struggles of those teams -- two of which are no longer existence -- underlines how big a challenge the American outfit faces in its first year. The team has a close technical partnership with Ferrari, which has allowed it to use Maranello's state-of-the-art facilities, but team principal Guenther Steiner is keeping expectations in check.
"Our goal with this car is to score points," Steiner said. "First, we need to go out there and show that we can do the job, that we can finish races, that we are respected by the fans and other teams in the paddock. Then, we want to score points. That is the ultimate goal."
Steiner said the relationship with Ferrari defined much of the new car's design.
"We're a new team, so we looked at what the successful teams were doing to give us a baseline of the direction we needed to go with our design. We have very experienced designers who worked hard to develop all the little things from an aerodynamic perspective that, collectively, add up to a lot.
"And our technical partner, Ferrari, provided our power unit, and that really defined the rear end of the car and how big it needed to be."