Formula 1 team principals are at odds over whether Haas should be granted extra testing time after they were unable to begin running in Bahrain on time due to a delay transporting their equipment.
Haas were not ready to run when the Bahrain International Circuit opened for testing this morning. The team indicated earlier in the week this would be the case following a delay to a plane carrying their freight.Pietro Fittipaldi took the VF-22 out for the first time following the lunch break. The team had missed over four hours of running by that point, during which time their rivals completed up to 70 laps each.
Mattia Binotto, team principal of Haas’s engine supplier Ferrari, said they were supportive of calls for the team to be given an extra chance to run after the test concludes on Saturday. Williams CEO Jost Capito agreed. “I think if the team cannot do half a day because of reasons they was not their fault I think it is fair to give the same conditions,” he said.
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack said the rules need to be enforced consistently if Haas are to be given an extra chance to test.
“If Haas should get a concession or not, I think this is not for us to comment,” he said. “They lost a day here. The rules are the same for everybody.
“If they get a day I think it is in the interest of the sport that we have them running just as we all have.”
However Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said whether Haas should be allowed to have extra running was not a straightforward matter.
“I think you need to get the values right,” he said. “The regulations are the regulations and if you start to open it for whatever, even force majeure situations, then it becomes tricky.
“All my sympathies are with Haas that they are getting half a day but it needs to be evaluated and like Mike said it’s not our decision but the FIA to give direction here.”
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RocketTankski
10th March 2022, 13:29
That half a day could mean the difference between 19th and 18th when race day comes.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
10th March 2022, 13:32
I get that the delay wasn’t their own fault, but given the logistics involved for one extra half day, I dunno if its worth it.
There seems to be a common theme with things going wrong for Hass (if not this, then sponsorships, etc). I hope they don’t turn into a modern day Andrea Moda (or god help them, EuroBrun!)
Erzen (@xenn1)
10th March 2022, 13:53
There’s no logistics involved. Some staff will go back to the factories after the test and some not, in the case of Haas that would mean that the ones going back to base would leave on Sunday noon rather than Saturday night, but the freight is staying in Bahrain. The race is one week after the test, none of the teams is moving any significant amount of stuff anywhere until after the race
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
11th March 2022, 10:35
Logistics of having how many marshals, medical staff, security staff operating a circuit for additional time at short notice.
Choose a different word to logistics if you like.
SteveM
10th March 2022, 13:36
It’s a tough one, can’t they be given an extra hour before / after 4 of the sessions that remain?
Surely that should be easy to organise?
Mark (@blueruck)
10th March 2022, 15:24
Good call, that is what they got
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
10th March 2022, 13:38
Of course Wolff will try to block it, wouldn’t be Toto if he wasn’t taking advantage of a team that he didn’t have a vested interest in.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
10th March 2022, 14:19
@sjaakfoo This is the team that once conducted an illegal test mid-season and tried to pin the blame on Pirelli when they got caught, so not surprising they’re sensitive about other teams getting extra testing time.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
10th March 2022, 15:04
@red-andy
Wolff also has a 5% stake in Williams that logically will be racing Haas this year.
Mark (@blueruck)
10th March 2022, 15:25
I thought he sold all of his Williams shares. Am I recalling wrong?
Patrick
10th March 2022, 15:38
Yes it was widely reported that Wolf had sole his remaining 5% shareholding that he had in Williams but for some reason and I don’t remember why, the deal fell apart and Wolf wound up still owning his 5%.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
10th March 2022, 15:45
@blueruck
That’s correct. He sold his 15% to Brad Hollinger the non-executive director at Williams who didn’t complete the transaction for the remaining 5% that returned automatically to Wolff. What a coincidence taking into account the fact that Wolff has started his career working in an investment bank.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/williams-wolff-shareholding-mercedes/4830004/
Chris Lloyd (@chrisr1718)
10th March 2022, 15:46
He sold it, then repurchased his 5% stake when Williams was sold to Dorilton Capital.
petebaldwin (@)
10th March 2022, 13:40
Didn’t need to get to the end of the article to know who would be against it…..
Jere (@jerejj)
10th March 2022, 13:47
Why should they, since other teams haven’t received such compensation over similar delays?
Who even came up with such a suggestion?
Alberto
10th March 2022, 15:54
Because the transportation was arranged by F1 management not individually by the teams. There is nothing Haas could have done differenly to avoid it. It is good that they cut him some slack but I also understand Toto’s point of view. Next time there will be an assessment of a problem, this allowanced will be used as an ammunition by some teams to overturn decisions.
IronStar
10th March 2022, 14:08
So, let me get this straight
– Everyone uses DHL as it’s F1 partner
– DHL plane breaks down, Haas gets stranded.
– DHL gets them where they need to be 2 days late, Haas can’t organise alternative transport because partnership.
– Haas looses half a day of running.
How the hell does this not equal “give them an extra day” in Toto’s head is really… Shocking
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
10th March 2022, 14:15
I think Toto just hates the idea of half a day’s extra testing for the Ferrari engine. I think it’s a nice thing for F1 to allow. Goodness knows Haas are not going to be a threat to the front runners.
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
10th March 2022, 14:41
I mean, it wouldn’t be an extra half day. It would just be the half day they didn’t get due to the transport issue. They’re ultimately still going to run the exact same total time of testing as they would have normally.
Rick
10th March 2022, 14:40
Of course they should be allowed. As I understand it the delay was totally on F1.
For the love of God Toto try being a man instead of a whiny fool.
WarfieldF1 (@warfieldf1)
10th March 2022, 15:20
If you are late ………. then you are late.
Mark (@blueruck)
10th March 2022, 15:27
It was out of their control, it was a F1 chartered plane that had problems. It could have been any team who had gear on that plane, happened to be more bad luck for Haas
greasemonkey
11th March 2022, 13:31
Haas was not late. They were delivered to the chartered plane on time.
What the correct rules should have been are obvious…practice should never have started until F1 had fairly delivered all teams.
Then the make-up practice, or not, would have been equal conditions to all teams.
Ali Daniels
10th March 2022, 16:06
Given that the delayed transportation was organised by F1 and not Haas, I think it’s only fair they get the chance to recoup the lost time. F1 would have done the same for any other team affected this way and as a number of people have pointed out it’s not like Haas are a major threat to the front running teams. Nice to see a bit of common sense and compassion ruling the day
Emma
10th March 2022, 16:49
Lots of hate for Toto already for simply saying rules are rules but that it was for the FIA to decide. Some things just baffle me.
Mame
10th March 2022, 21:23
The “hate” is for Toto clearly not supporting a backmarker team who were ripped off half a day through no fault of their own. He’d be singing a different tune if it was one of his teams. Toto showing no sympathy or empathy is nothing new, don’t sit there pretending to be surprised why people don’t like him.
OOliver
11th March 2022, 7:10
Come on they sacked their Russian driver and cancelled Russian company sponsorship. Even if we know Haas would have long gone under without that funding, they should still earn some bonus points for these actions in line with the current geopolitical mood. They should get extra time.