Haas & Williams’ F1 2018 Contenders

Haas F1 Team – Ferrari – VF-18

Formula One’s American outfit Haas F1 Team were the first to introduce to the world it’s 2018 contender, the Ferrari-powered VF-18 via the organisation’s social media platforms and website on February 14.

The VF-18 racer is an evolution of the Kannapolis-squads second car, the VF-17, which took Haas to eighth place in last season’s Constructors Championship and scored 47 points, 18 more than it’s debut year in 2016.

Combining “VF” into the name of the car pays homage to the history of Haas Automation, the teams title sponsor. The first CNC machine manufactured by Haas Automation was the VF-1 in 1988. 

The “V” stands for vertical, which is an industry standard specification for a vertical mill and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation, added “F1” to the name to identify it as the company’s very first one.

As chairman of Haas F1 Team, the “F1” denomination of that first machine added more meaning as Haas uses Formula One to establish itself as an elite, global brand.

“People see what we can do in Formula One and people believe Haas Automation can build world-class machine tools,” explained Haas, who’s 2016 debut entry became the first American Formula One squad since 1986. “Being a Formula One participant brings a level of credibility that you just won’t get through traditional advertising.”

Haas built Haas Automation into the largest toolmaker in North America by focusing on strong detailing and constant refining. He has applied those same attributes to his F1 team.

“We eliminated a lot of the variables where we knew we were weak,” Haas continued. “We’ve focused on what it’s going to take to get our car to be consistent and close that gap to the top teams.”

Beyond it’s refining, the VF-18 has the addition of the mandatory halo head protection device and a reduced shark fin.

“The biggest part of the car’s evolution was the addition of the halo,” explained Haas F1’s Team Principal Guenther Steiner. “It took quite a bit of study by the aerodynamicists, but the designers had to work hard to modify the chassis so the halo could survive the mandated loads. The total minimum weight of the car increased because of the halo, and there’s a higher centre of gravity simply because of the halo’s position. But, everyone is in the same boat,”

“The regulations stayed pretty stable between 2017 and 2018, so the VF-18 is an evolution of our car from last year. It’s less about reinvention and more about refinement. You see elements we had from last year on the car this year,”

“Our 2017 car was actually pretty good, but we didn’t always get the best out of it, and that’s what we aimed to change in 2018. We got the car as light as possible to carry more ballast. We were able to do a better job of putting the weight where we wanted it.” Steiner said.

Haas Automation’s corporate colours were carried over to the VF-18 racer with grey making up the majority of the livery and tones of red and black that incorporates the look of Haas Automation’s vertical and horizontal machining and turning centres and rotary tables and indexers.

Approximately 1,300 employees work at Haas Automation, with the Oxford, California company exporting machines to 60 countries worldwide.

The VF-18 demonstrates Haas Automation’s commitment to innovation and technology to a passionate worldwide audience.

“The livery is a little bit of a return to what we had on our first car, the VF-16, its look is clean and precise, just like the machine tools made by Haas Automation.” Steiner concluded.

The Haas VF-18 will be piloted by Romain Grosjean who will compete in his third season for the American-outfit and partners for the second time alongside Dane Kevin Magnussen who will race in his second year for the team.

Williams Martini Racing – Mercedes – FW41

Williams Martini Racing unveiled it’s challenger, the Mercedes-powered FW41 at the season’s evening launch in London last Thursday evening.

The FW41 looks very different to it’s predecessor, the FW40, with significant input from the Grove based-outfit’s Chief Technical Officer, Paddy Lowe, and Head of Aerodynamics, Dirk De Beer, who were both appointed at the beginning of last season to link up with Chief Designer Ed Wood.

Now entering it’s 41st campaign in Formula One, the nine-time Constructors and seven-time Drivers Champions face one of their most challenging seasons yet as they aim to overturn their slow slip from third in the championship in 2014 and 15 to fifth in 2016 and 17. The team hopes the FW41 racer will be up to the challenge as it enters it’s fifth season using the strong Mercedes power-train.

The FW41 is also the first Williams to be designed under the guidance and technical leadership of Paddy Lowe after the former Mercedes technical boss switched from Brackley to Grove at the start of last year.

“It is very exciting to be giving everyone the first look at the FW41,” explained Paddy Lowe as Williams have undergone substantial changes over the winter. “It is the product of some great teamwork across the various functions in the organisation including aerodynamics design, vehicle dynamics, race engineering and systems engineering,”

“The car has many new features, most of which are not all that obvious, but externally the team has pursued a very different aerodynamic concept which has allowed us some significant progress in aerodynamic performance.”

Although the nose resembles last years FW40, the FW41 looks to have a significant rethink. The mandatory Halo head protection device sits above the driver’s head while the sidepod openings and side crash structures on either side of the cockpit were redesigned and are now similar to the design concept introduced and developed by Ferrari last year.

The FW41 also features new aero devices above the bargeboards and front-dive planes on either side of the nose, not contrast to last year’s Mercedes.

The rear is tightly packaged while the shark fin engine cover has been trimmed to comply with the 2018 regulations around that area of the car. A T-wing has been installed ahead of the rear wing, but much more lower than last year’s T-wings that were joined to last year’s shark fin engine cover.

“All Formula One cars are an evolution of what has gone before to some extent, but the FW41 does involve a number of departures from the directions that have been pursued in the past. Lowe continued. “Overall, the philosophy we are starting to see emerge is a new approach to the collaboration between aerodynamics and design to achieve the optimum working result,”

“Aerodynamics, structure and weight are the three major trades to be made in designing a Formula One car, and all the work, alongside a number of radical changes to the car’s packaging to incorporate further developments from Mercedes HPP, have led us to the FW41 being revealed today,”

“We hope that this car will make progress in the performance rankings relative to 2017. The whole technical team is also feeling very positive about our two talented young race drivers with the combination of Lance and Sergey, alongside the contribution of Robert as our reserve and development driver.” said Lowe.

Williams Martini Racing’s Deputy Team Principal, Claire Williams said “I am thrilled to be back and launching our new car, for a new season, with a new, exciting driver line-up. For many months, the team have put a tremendous amount of effort into the FW41 and I’m eager to see both Lance (Stroll) and Sergey (Sirotkin) take to the track later this month.”

“Lance produced some impressive performances last year in what was a remarkably strong debut season, where he only just lost out to Felipe in the standings. His podium finish was the only one outside of the top three teams, and we aim to build on that this season,”

“It’s also my pleasure to welcome Sergey and Robert (Kubica) to Williams, who have both displayed exceptional speed and qualities that I know will only strengthen the team. Sergey has impressed the technical team and it is great for us to be able to give him the opportunity to step up into a race seat. Robert, will also be working closely with the team, utilising his experience to help develop the car throughout the season,”

“Our entire team have put a huge amount of effort into the development and production of this year’s car, and we’re all looking forward to seeing it on the track. I would also like to thank our partners and fans for all their confidence and support.” Williams concluded.

Williams 2018 driver line-up includes the aforementioned Lance Stroll who will contest his second season for the Grove-based squad and teams alongside Russian rookie Sergey Sirotkin, who replaces Felipe Massa and will make his Formula One debut for the outfit while Robert Kubica returns to Formula One as the team’s Reserve and Development Driver.

Both Haas and Williams’ respective contenders will hit the track on the first day of testing on Monday February 26 for eight days of testing and concluding on March 9 with the season officially beginning at the 2018 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix from March 23-25.