Month: November 2016

2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Well, we’ve made it. The final race of the first year for the Haas F1 Team.

The Formula 1 Championship is still up for grabs. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg held a 12 point lead over his teammate Hamilton going into the race. Lewis Hamilton would end up winning the race and Nico Rosberg finished second, which was enough for Rosberg to inch out Hamilton for the 2016 Formula 1 Championship.

Both Haas cars completed the race. Romain Grosjean took the 11th place while Gutierrez finished right behind him in 12th. Gutierrez actually out qualified Grosjean as the two started 13th and 14th respectively.

From the perspective of the Haas F1 Team, the race was fairly uneventful. Aside from Grosjean being run off of the track by Force India driver Carlos Sainz. Sainz would later retire from the race after Jolyn Palmer in his Renault missed his breaking point and end Sainz’s day.

So there it is. The first year of the Haas F1 Team has come to a conclusion. Haas finished 8th in the constructors championship. Romain Grosjean finished 13th in the drivers championship with 29 points, a formidable performance. Clearly Haas made the correct choice in Grosjean as their lead driver. Esteban Gutierrez did not score any points for his employer. I suspect we witnessed Gutierrez’s last race in Haas livery.

In the year when Gene Haas was told he’s in for a “rude awaking” says David Richards of Sky Sports… I think it was Richards that was rudely awaken by Gene Haas. Underestimating your opponent is an advantage any underdog covetes. It is safe to say that Haas was greatly underestimated. The Haas team was almost discarded as a legitimate team, let alone able to beat Sauber, Renault or SRT Marussia. But with 29 points in their first year it is safe to say that the future looks bright for American Formula 1 fans. We will not fool ourselves into believing that Haas could ever win a championship, or even a single race. The rules are designed to benefit Ferrari and Mercedes. There are only three real contenders in any Formula 1 race, and there is no prospect of that ever changing. But Haas Automation is getting the much desired notoriety they are seeking. Let’s just hope they improve their market share enough to justify the cost of an F1 team.

So that’s it for 2016. It has been a fantastic F1 season, and we look forward to Haas on the grid for 2017.

2016 Grand Prix of Brazil

The Haas F1 Team was poised to deliver more championship points, until the weekend took a turn for the worse. Romain Grosjean qualified P7 for the Haas Team.

But excitement for the Brazilian Grand Prix was quickly diluted by a continual riveting rain. Grosjean smashed his car into a barrier wall at the conclusion of the formation lap. Romain Grosjean’s day was over and delegated a DNS (did not start) status. Gutierrez was the last hope for Haas.

Starting from a respectable 12th position, Esteban Gutierrez was the lone hope for Haas. The first 7 laps of the race were run behind the safety car. There was another safety car at lap 14 due to the crash of Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber. The race was then red flagged du to rain. 27 minutes later racing resumed, and Gutierrez found himself nested back in 17th position. The Haas pilot was able to work his way up to P12 by lap 40. That is when Gutierrez started to experience electrical issues, which ultimately caused his retirement at lap 60. Ultimately it was the failure of the engine hybrid components, the MGU-H and then the MGU-K, which resulted in Gutierrez’s retirement.

So, no points for Haas. They did not even finish the race.

Lewis Hamilton ended up beating his Mercedes rival Nico Rosberg by 11 seconds as the two Silver Arrows finished the day first and second. The final podium spot was taken by Max Verstappen in his Redbull.

Next is the final race of the 2016 season at the Adu Dabi Grand Prix.