Haas VF-16: First pictures revealed

2016 F1 season

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F1’s newest team Haas has revealed the car with which it will contest its first season of grand prix racing.

The Dallara-designed chassis will benefit from a 2016-specification Ferrari power unit and ancillary components. Team principal Guenther Steiner said the team paid attention to what their rivals had done to produce “the best evolution of a good F1 car”.

“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.”

The new team has been set up by Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation, whose branding appears on the car.

“When you hear ‘F1’ you know exactly what it is – a global racing series that showcases the latest technology and attracts the best talent in engineering and design,” said Haas.

“Haas Automation has an excellent reputation in the United States and I want that reputation to grow worldwide. Connecting Haas Automation with F1 in name and in practice is the best way to grow our business and elevate Haas Automation to a premium, global brand.”

The car carrier the name VF-16. The ‘V’ is derived from the vertical mill machine developed by Haas Automation in the eighties and the ‘F’ refers to F1. However it is also being unofficially referred to as “very first”. The car’s grey and red livery also reflects the company’s range of products.

Haas VF-16 pictures

Haas VF-16 video

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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115 comments on “Haas VF-16: First pictures revealed”

  1. My eyes!!!!

  2. Very pretty!

  3. I don’t think this livery is growing on me just yet… aero package is more polished than I was expecting though.

    1. @jcost this has a reminiscence of HRT… And that is not a good thing.

      Time will tell.

      1. @captainpie In what way exactly it reminds you of HRT?

        1. I see it too. It’s almost like an homage to the fallen backmarkers.

        2. Their 2011 livery… Albeit without the “you advert goes here” signs on it.

        3. Well it does look quite similar to the 2011 HRT but in my opinion that had one of the best liveries of recent times, so that’s a good thing if you ask me.

          1. @ivettel you beat me to it. Lol those sponsor place adverts were funny. My favorite “This is a cool spot!”

          2. They tried so hard, bless em. Ambitious, but utterly rubbish.

          3. @ivettel that made me laugh out loud!

  4. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
    21st February 2016, 14:02

    Noooo. I was really hoping for Ferrari badge yellow. This looks like a Marussia, very disappointing.

    1. The front end looks like a 2015 Marussia indeed but the rest of the car is quite distinctive. It’s quite neat and they avoided the overcharge often see on Nascars.

    2. That’s exactly what I was thinking, nevertheless we shall see how it performs.

      It least it isn’t grey!

    3. I was sincerely hoping for a yellow livery too…

      But Renault disappointed me more with their super bland black nothingness!

  5. With a big red nose like that I’m surprised it isn’t called Rudolph. What an ugly livery.

    1. Gene Haas would probably be wanting to give red noses to his team members by the end of the year if the car fails to score any points at all.

      But I hope they do score…

  6. I REALLY hope that’s just a testing livery, and then they get a real life grown-up to design the race livery.

    1. You mean someone who knows f1 Cars Need to be as Grey as possible? :D

  7. Will they get 2016-spec or 2015-spec Ferrari power units?

    1. @f1mre

      The Dallara-designed chassis will benefit from a 2016-specification Ferrari power unit and ancillary components.

      1. Dallara did NOT design the chassis. They built pieces designed by Haas. Why does this nonsense keep being regurgitated?

    2. Only Toro Rosso from the three Ferrari-customers will have to use 2015-specs.

  8. Now, that’s a bad livery! What were they thnking?! It looks half-done, like it was designed by a kid with just 3 crayons. Though if we see their Stewart-Haas livery, it’s equally unimaginative.

    1. It’s definitely too busy at the front, in contrast to behind the cockpit.

    2. @fer-no65 I was expecting something different. The colors just aren’t good. But as the people said up there, at least it’s not grey.

  9. Initially, from the shot at an angle, I thought the livery was good, colourful and unique. But then I saw the side shot, and it’s just dull, especially the plain silver/grey. I’m not a massive fan of the shade of red either. I would rather the team had gone for something a bit more daring in their first season, so far this is the one livery I’m not a fan of.

  10. How inspiring. We haven’t seen nearly enough black, red and white liveries recently.

    *insert Homer Simpson ‘by the way I was being sarcastic’ screenshot here*

    1. FlyingLobster27
      21st February 2016, 15:50

      Red, white and black: it’s a WEC livery! (and a poor one of that)
      It’s not “Haas Team is go”, it’s “Haas Team Goh“!

  11. Another silver/grayish and black car. That will surely set them apart from the rest of the field!!

  12. livery looks like the kind of knock-offs you see in games which do not own F1 rights, but aero [at least] looks well-sculpted…

  13. What has struck me most about this year’s launches to date is the lack of sponsors.

    The new Haas has almost nothing other than its eponymous owner, even though you would hope that a new US team might be able to bring in some brands from the world’s largest economy.

    Red Bull has replaced Infiniti with its own brand, so no new money there. McLaren face yet another season without a title sponsor. Even the dominant Mercedes team have failed to replace the departed Blackberry.

    With the world economy looking like it could be on the verge of another downturn, the signs do not bode well for the health of the sport.

    1. It’s quite shocking, I was expecting quite a few sponsors for this team as well, considering how sponsor-heavy Nascar is I thought Haas would have a lot of contacts.

      1. Interesting that Richard Mille logo appear on Haas and McLaren cars. I wonder how much they pay for each.

        1. @nickwyatt that’s nothing look at Carlos Slim’s companies Telcel and Claro they appear on Haas, Ferrari and obviously will in the Force India, also last year in the Lotus for a brief time… I reckon with all the money he spends sponsoring several teams he could become a title sponsor for a single one and if the team goes well that would be much better I think.

    2. The cars this year have been bland, but to put it in perspective you can’t expect to get a touring car or formula ford drive unless you have some results from karting to back you up.
      It’s hard to promote a team which has nothing but words and promises to back it up. So a lot like Brawn GP in 2009, I expect to see more logo’s added to this car through the season.

  14. Can’t really use the sliders to compare this one with another car!
    Interesting to see what a brand new design (not an evolution) looks like – and how they’ll get on updating a Dallara F1 design with proper backing for a change.
    It’s quite chunky compared to the McLaren and Ferrari, but thumbs up for a decent-looking nose. (Middle fingers up to anyone using a finger-shaped one!)

    1. Not a Dallara design. F1fanatic is wrong here. it’s a Haas-Ferrari design. Dallara simply built the thing. Haas went to Dallara with the design and they built it for him, they didn’t design it.

  15. The F1 car with an identity crisis.

    Hmm not horrible, not great though

  16. Good to see marsupial back on the grid :)

    1. Marussia* fail haha

    2. Hopefully its faster than a marsupial! :)

      1. Haha oops! Interesting if you put this next to the Mercedes.. Just how much more detail and refined the merc is. Obviously I know all that comes from experience and such. It’ll be good to see the Haas evolve throughout the season!

  17. This looks a bit like mclaren old livery….

    1. This..

      I was hopeinv someone else sees this aswell. To me it looks like a good looking version of McLaren. Just silvery enough to not be white, just white enough not to be a silver arrow.

      All in all great looking.

  18. Not bad for a starter car. I like the nose much better than the protruding thumb nose seen on other cars. From the top view, it looks like it’s approaching the much vaunted “size zero” design. The rest looks pretty standard. Now the livery sure could use some help! I hope Haas reads F1 Fanatic and realizes how boring the car looks. Personally I need more red white and blue! Maybe a stylized American flag or something along the sidepod or rear wing endplate. Something else besides black red and gray!

  19. Nice ‘Aas.

    Anyway, yet more of the same colours we have already seen. The bump in the middle of the nose is interesting. It will be interesting to see how good Dallara’s chassis is. It can’t be much worse than their most recent F1 one.

  20. They all look like each other.
    No way.

  21. That ripple in the nose is curious. Hope it’s not a machining error…

    1. Suspension mounting points?

    2. Place holder for an S-Duct?

    3. Maybe they forgot to iron that bit?

    4. @keithcollantine

      Given it’s location I wonder if it’s to make room to house the suspension?

      1. That is a reasonable explanation, but that defenetly has an effect aerodynamically. Maybe is there to re-direct air into the air entrance above the driver’s head?

        It looks really odd and “amateurish” maybe?

        Btw the livery looks like those stock liveries that you get in racing games

  22. Oh wow, the new Manor car looks ni— Oh wait…

  23. What a missedlivery opportunity :(

  24. OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
    21st February 2016, 14:18

    When I saw Romain’s helmet, I thought the livery was going to be striking, colorful…
    Another dull livery. Is there somebody like a Tilke-livery designer whose aim is to make all F1 cars look boring? Even Ferrari fell into a boring design with that white patch. McLaren is blacker, Mercedes is blacker, Red Bull with that opaque livery, Williams with that (in my opinion) too white livery, so what’s next, Sauber decides to go grey too? My hopes are in Lotus now, some yellow for my eyes please!!!

  25. Curious as to what this weird curve above the upper suspension arm is doing. Is it for the suspension (which to me looks as “we failed to pack it tight enough”) or is it the future S-Duct?

    The rear doesnt look too impressive, but neither did last year’s Ferrari. Thumbs up for the nose though.

  26. I had seen a very pale grey coming! Looks best from the side IMO, liking the bold red front and rear wings!

    Been trying put my finger on what’s making it look a bit awkward/Marussia-y and I think it’s the black nose. Not sure there’s any need for it, or at the very least it’s been badly and unsubtly implemented…

  27. Looks OK for a new comer.

  28. I am getting increasingly disheartened by all of these awful liveries. Mercedes, Mclaren, Haas, Force India, Red Bull, they all have dark liveries. Even then, the designs are ugly. In the Mclaren’s case there is almost no livery at all. I’m holding out hope that the Renault will become yellow. That would be nice.

  29. Not bad, but if only they’d gone with white (or whatever!) instead the now ubiquitous grey/silver…

  30. Looks great to me

  31. Well, looks like I’m alone here, but I really like it, especially the side shot.

  32. You know what it looks like? American. When you see some things from the US you can usually notice they come from there, just made with simple solutions, but a few unique features. Simply rounded nose, simple livery, but that unusual bump on the top of the nose and the slots on the floor makes it somehow different and recognizable. Who knows how good it will be but good luck to them.

  33. I see Richard mille sponsor logos on this one as well. Makes Mclarens big announcement about plugging the Tag heur gap seem like more PR spin. Especially if the logos appear on the Renault again this year.

    1. @asanator Richard Mille followed Grosjean as a personal sponsor

  34. Looks distinctly backmarker-esque.

    1. I was going to say exactly that.

  35. The nose clearly looks like a Dallara-designed nose: I guess I see the GP2/11 car in that… the rear, however, looks very professional, and overall the whole car is really pretty. A pity the livery is inconsistent.

  36. Black/white/red/silver are the go to colours for any new team it seems lol, marussia, HRT and now haas…really really uninspiring

  37. Ain’t it funny how they used the high pitched engines at the end of their promo video…

    Anyway, not a fan of the livery. Hope it goes better than it looks.

  38. Sadly, Stewart Haas Racing is black/red/white/gray. I’m saying put some US Flag motifs on that car for recognizability and to stand out from the other pedestrian liveries so far this year.

  39. Can we get a “Compare the Haas VF-16 with the Ferrari SF16-H” ?

  40. With Sauber running a poor man’s GP2 livery, we’ve now got a poor man’s FR3.5 livery in Haas.

    I really wish F1 teams would hire some graphic designers with less tolerance for gray…

  41. well, at least some white colors…

  42. People will complain about anything won’t they.

  43. I like to think VF relates to ‘Variable Fighter‘…

  44. Now, I don’t mind the livery, I think it looks quite nice. Haas are a new team and they went for a different livery, and it does kind of work for me.

    The problem is whenever I look at a livery, I tend to get an idea of how well the car goes. I don’t think that’s the livery of a fast car, which is a shame. I just hope I’m proved wrong on this one..

  45. Macross references, anyone..?

  46. I’m not expecting them to have any troubles to score points somewhere this season. If McLaren can luck into 27 points surely Haas with a better engine can do so too.

  47. A Black/red/white/grey livery. Not surprising. They have always used those colors in some shape or form.

    If we want to see colorful liveries, the we need the teams to pick up title sponsors with color. I’m not surprised that the teams have chosen the colors that they did.

  48. Oh dear!! If it goes like it looks – clunky, chunky and unrefined …. any points this season is a distant dream!! Romain – What have you done!!!???

  49. The livery is an eyesore and I expected so much more. The car? We’ll see.

  50. VF-16 “However it is also being unoficially referred as “Very Ferrari”.”

  51. Looks like a Manor, it’s ugly.

  52. Looks like a backmarker. It’s reminiscent of HRT’s 2011 livery.

  53. VF-16 instantly makes me think of the fighter jets that transform into robots in Macross anime (Robotech cartoon). I wonder if the Haas has a robot mode?

    1. Yes…..on Grosjean’s car

  54. They’re going to tighten up the ‘coke bottle’ before it’s driven in anger, surely…

  55. I was also expecting yellow. But, no Cunningham stripes or bald eagle heads?
    I am dissapoint.

  56. This is going to be faster than a McLaren.

  57. Another thing…

    Why do they use V8 sound effects on the end of their promotional video?

    1. Because America.

      1. Hahaahaaa….

  58. Have you noticed the wrong (inverted) american flag on the side view pic?

    1. It isn’t wrong. When the US flag is displayed on a vehicle or a uniform it is always oriented so that it looks like the flag is moving forward and streaming back.

      1. Ah, that was my questions too. Thanks.

  59. So much red, white and black on the current grid (Ferrari, Haas, probably Marussia; McLaren too arguably).

    I’m hoping for creativity from Sauber and Force India.

  60. Why I am shocked at all the hate? Guessing it’s based on xenophobia and the typical anti-American sentiment. Weak.

    I don’t love the livery but no one can argue that it looks worse than the McLaren or some of the other awful liveries we’ve seen in recent years. Haas has his own company colours so it was going to have red and white no matter what.

    At least no one with a brain can claim it’s Ferrari clone.

    1. wow, paranoid much?
      I highly doubt tha nationality has anything at all to do with the negative comments,
      it’s just a bland livery, nothing special and reminiscent of the failed attempts to enter the sport recently.
      we are just disappointed that a new team doesn’t bring a new splash of colour. Yellow, bright orange, neon green, something. There are more colours in the vinyl shop other than silver and red to cover all that carbon black

  61. Not terrible, not wonderful. Hopefully in a couple years when they have a Ford-Cossie motor and Rossi is a driver the paint scheme will be up to snuff.

    Hey, a moose can dream.

  62. At least it doesn’t have an ugly nose

  63. It is last years Ferrari, except the nose. Front and rear end plates must have been taken off SF15-t.
    But I like it.

  64. Looks fast. I was expecting a car similar to Hrt, Caterham and Virginin but this car looks way superior. I bet there is few midfield teams who are sweating a little but.

    1. Virgin. I really need to disable autocorrect on my phone.

  65. Why is the American flag the wrong way round on the right side of the car?

    1. Nevermind, just noticed that @flatdarkmars answered this on the previous page.

  66. F1 car reveals… The 21st century version of the inkblot test… Everyone sees what they expect to see.

  67. good lord.

  68. For those making negative comments about the color scheme, do a web search for Haas Automation, then take a look at the logo colors.

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