Photo Courtesy of Sutton Images
Becoming the next to last formula one team to announce their launch date for the 2017 formula one season, Haas F1 stated Thursday afternoon that they will introduce their new challenger, the VF 17, on Sunday the 26th of February, just one day before the opening winter test at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Barcelona, Spain.
It will become the third team to launch their car on that same day, as both Scuderia Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing will do their honors earlier that morning.
As with their previous model, the VF 16, the car will have a Dallara chassis and be powered by a Ferrari drivetrain. The team for this season will also share many components as their partners from Marenello.
What is different this season compared to their rookie year in 2016, is the replacement of Mexican Esteban Gutierrez with former Danish Renault pilot Kevin Magnussen, while Frenchman Romain Grosjean, who tallied all the points for the American team in their rookie year, will return in his second season.
The goal for the team will be to confirm their presence in the midfield, which could be tough with Renault improving their car, and Sauber returning with a brand new technical advisor. Both mentioned squads finished behind Haas last season in the constructor’s championship.
The team in addition, did announce the launch date on twitter, but did not provide any additional information.
Mark Gero has written formula one racing stories since 2002 on the Internet for such sites as Motorsport.com, Racing Information Service News and for a brief time at the Munich Eye newspaper in Munich, Germany along with Autoweek online. Mark also has a diploma in journalism from the London School of Journalism in London, England and in addition a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa.