The Haas team that will take to the track in the 2025 world championship has been officially unveiled. The team led by Ayao Komatsu is looking for a further step forward with the VF-25 after a 2024 in which the common denominator was growth.
A year that began with difficulties ended with seventh place in the constructors’ standings, after a close fight with Alpine in the final part of the season. Their new car is an evolution of last year’s car.
The VF-25, which has already tasted the asphalt during the shakedown last Sunday at Silverstone, was developed with the intention of improving in the areas where the greatest shortcomings have emerged, such as aerodynamics and operation at high temperatures.
Haas Technical Director Andrea De Zordo and Davide Paganelli, Head of Aerodynamics, spoke about these and other issues.
The foundation from which the new Haas is born: “a successful 2024, we are on the right path”
Looking at the progress made in the economy of a season, Haas is undoubtedly one of the teams that has worked best in this respect. A growth aided by the close collaboration between the Banbury and Maranello departments, as Technical Director De Zordo said.
“The relationship between the Italian and British offices was probably the best thing about last season,” he said.
“We are much more aligned, we discuss a lot and I think it is a relationship that is working well. We have improved the strength of the design office a lot, we have improved our aerodynamics a lot in terms of methodology, tools.
“And this is a process that has already started a long time ago, and even if we still have a lot to do in this sense, we are on the right path.”
Turning the page is the leitmotif confirmed by the Head of Aerodynamics Paganelli , looking at the basis on which this year’s car is born.
“We consider 2024 a success because we entered the season last in the championship.
“It was really difficult to be able to provide something positive with the same resource.
“But by changing the organizational structure we unlocked the potential of the team members, and this was really satisfying.”
On the development of the VF-25: “We focused on the rear wing and managing the hotter temperatures”
Although the balance of last season was positive, there were still weak points that the engineers had to work on in the development of the VF-25.
“The main contribution to performance comes from the aerodynamic side, so the main focus was again to try to improve as much as possible in that area,” said the Haas Technical Director, supported by the Head of Aerodynamics.
The latter explained how the main focus in this sense was reserved for the rear of the car.
“We worked a lot on the rear of the car, and in particular on the rear wing. I think we have done a really good job in that regard for 2025. If we can see on track what we think we will discover in the wind tunnel, I think we can have a huge boost from the first race.”
Among the items on the agenda was to improve the car’s versatility – especially at certain temperatures.
“One of the weak points we had last year was not being able to express ourselves at the same level on circuits with different characteristics,” said Paganelli.
“We have done a good job in trying to fill that kind of gap. As well as providing a better setup in the hotter races. We know that at the beginning of the season we will have some hot races, so we should be able to compete.”
Bearman-Ocon: the new driver pairing for 2025
The most important news for Haas in 2025 is the new driver lineup, formed by Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon. A major challenge that the engineers have been and will be called upon to develop the new car is linked to what the driving style of the duo will be and the feedback they will get from the track.
“For sure, we will need some time on both sides of the garage to familiarize ourselves with the new drivers,” said De Zordo.
“I found them both very engaged, smiling and motivated, and this left all of us with a good impression and a good feeling for the year.
“All these points help to motivate the team, and this is very important when things are not going well or when people get tired during a long season.
“They are really good and can provide excellent feedback and also help us go even further in understanding the car.”
2025 or 2026? Here’s how development will be divided
In the scenario of a tight fight like the one seen in 2024, not only for the top positions but also in the midfield, a further challenge will be linked to the balance between development for the 2025 season and that for 2026.
The regulatory change that F1 will experience in a year requires teams to make an effort on two fronts.
“At the moment it is not clear whether the teams will push or not on the current car, but I strongly doubt that any other team will give up. I expect a very tough and close competition again,” said Head of Aerodynamics Paganelli.
At the same time, Paganelli explains how the 2026 project at Haas has already started:
“We have already started working on our car for 2026, as the FIA regulations allow teams to start working seriously on the project, in terms of aerodynamics, from January 2, 2025.
“We will try to use the same philosophy as last year. Making sure we are happy with the direction and can see the results before proceeding with further updates.”
A Haas that always thinks bigger: the start of the TPC program
Regardless of what the future holds for Haas, there is no denying that the goals are increasingly ambitious. This is demonstrated by the TPC program that started last January with the first session in Jerez.
“For us it is a good opportunity for the younger engineers to learn the job and gain experience,” said De Zordo.
“It is difficult to get that during a race weekend. So the possibility for them to grow and learn in a slightly more relaxed environment like a small team is a great opportunity.”
This healthy environment that allows the younger employees to train. Crucially, it gives them room to improve before contributing to the real racing team, as Paganelli underlined.
“It is a fantastic way to train the staff and internal resources and to have them ready as soon as we need them.
“For us it is good to build the relationship between the engineers and the team members on the track. It is an important way to build relationships and establish good communication between the team, which was not possible before.”
