Get to know the Haas F1 team, including drivers Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher and inimitable team principal Guenther Steiner.
After 12 years of running a successful NASCAR operation, Gene Haas decided to try his hand at Formula 1 auto racing, eventually starting to compete as the Haas F1 team in 2016. The sport’s lone American outfit is based in North Carolina at the same site as its NASCAR team Stewart-Haas Racing, with another European base of operations in Banbury, England.
Unlike its success in the world of stock cars, Haas has struggled to find its footing in F1. In six-plus seasons spanning 125 races, there have been no wins, no podiums, and just 212 total points for the Haas F1 team to date. Last season, Haas managed to score as many points as the non-existent Boardroom F1 team, finishing dead last in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
But don’t tell any racing fan under the sun that this outfit isn’t lovable.
Haas’ only constant (besides the lackluster results to date) has been its engine relationship with Ferrari and its occasional relationships with suspect business partners. Those include Rich Energy and Russian fertilizer giant Uralkali, whose Russian oligarch head honcho Dmitry Mazepin insisted that his son, Nikita, drive one of its cars, famously meddling on the racing side in the most recent season of Netflix’s Drive To Survive. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended that relationship, as well as the colors of the Russian flag making up Haas’ primary car colors. Mazepin was replaced on March 5 by longtime Haas Formula 1 vet Kevin Magnussen, who pairs with Mick Schumacher — the son of legendary Michael — as this year’s drivers under longtime team principal and DTS favorite Guenther Steiner.
Let’s get to know more about the Haas F1 team.
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History of Haas in Formula 1
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Kannapolis, North Carolina, & Banbury, England
Owner: Gene Haas
Key sponsors: Haas Automation, 1&1, Alpinestars, Cyrus Geneve, Home Deluxe, Ionos, Maui Jim, Pirelli, Schuberth, Champagne Taittinger, TransferMate Global Payments, Tricorp, Under Armour
When Gene Haas got the F1 itch, there weren’t exactly legions of racing enthusiasts bullish about an American operation re-entering the fray for the first time since 1986. The opportunity arose when four dreary world championship campaigns proved to be too much for UK-based Marussia, who notched zero points in the standings in three of those years — they sold their base of operations in Banbury, Oxfordshire to Haas.
Then, it was time to build an actual car.
Two years before the team’s proper Formula 1 debut, Haas picked Steiner, who had previously worked alongside the legendary Niki Lauda at Jaguar and Christian Horner at Red Bull, to fill out the operation from the ground up and work with Ferrari on a workable engine and Dallara on a chassis design. Eventually, Haas named him team principal.
The Haas F1 tale began with consecutive eighth-place finishes in the Constructor’s Championship before a breakthrough No. 5 finish in 2018 with Magnussen and Romain Grosjean behind the wheel. The three years since then have showcased no such luck, but K-Mag’s back-to-back points finishes at Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to begin the season amounted to the best start for a Haas driver since Grosjean in 2016.
2022 Haas F1 Drivers
Kevin Magnussen
- No. 20 car
- First driver since Lewis Hamilton with a podium finish in his F1 debut (2014 Australian GP)
- Won an IMSA sports car race and competed in the IndyCar series in 2021 before returning to Haas this year
Magnussen’s Haas resurgence came about due to some unfortunate circumstances — if Russia hadn’t invaded Ukraine, it’s likely that Nikita Mazepin would still occupy his seat. But all’s well that ends well, and while he’s still seeking the first win of his F1 career, he’s the owner of two fastest laps, recording one each in 2018 and ’19 in addition to being just the second Danish-born driver to record a points finish.
The first? His father, Jan.
Mick Schumacher
- No. 47 car
- Son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher
- 2020 Formula 2 champion with Prema Racing
After winning the F2 title in 2020 while also spending time as an F1 test driver for both Alfa Romeo and Haas, Mick Schumacher made his full-time Formula 1 debut in 2021. A product of the Ferrari Driver Academy, the 23-year-old is considered a potential prospect for the Prancing Horse in the years to come.
Haas’ F1 Championships & Milestones
Numbers reflect results through the 2022 Australian Grand Prix.
Constructor’s Championships: None
Driver’s Championships: None
All-time Formula 1 wins: None
F1 podiums: None
F1 poles: None
F1 fastest laps: 2
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