With Guenther Steiner indicating that Haas and the other nine teams will be at the 2023 budget cap, he predicts that talent will now be the decider.
As part of Formula 1’s efforts to generate a more competitive grid, a spending cap has been put in place from the 2021 season, with this concept now set to enter its third year.
Set at $135 million for the 2023 campaign, Steiner says that’s a figure he expects Haas to reach, allowing them to build on a 2022 campaign that saw them go from a year 2021 scorching and pointless to midfield fighters once again, scoring 37 points.
“We were very close to the budget limit this year,” Steiner said, according to Motorsport.com.
“I think we didn’t perform like the other teams. It wasn’t because of the money this year, but more because of when we started.
“In 2020, we closed everything. In 2021 we started building the car for 2022. But when we started it was January and you can’t have a team of people working perfectly and in harmony from day one.
“So it took a bit of time, but at the start of the year we were still quite strong. Then something was a bit missing, it was ups and downs, but Formula 1 is just a tough place. I think we found out why it happened like that.
“Next year we will reach the budget limit and I am quite confident that we can take the next step, technically and as a team.
Haas carries the “big bonus” of a new sponsorship deal with MoneyGram into the 2023 campaign, helping the team reach that budget cap.
And as he expects Haas to be joined by the other nine teams at that limit, Steiner now says we’ll see who has the talent to create the best race team and challenger.
“Now we can do what other teams can do,” Steiner said. “I think not only us, but everyone else will hit the budget limit next year.
“So it’s not about money, it’s about talent, and hopefully we have enough talent to move forward.”
Haas re-emerged as a strong contender in 2022
It’s fair to say that Haas’ recent struggles with the title sponsors have taken their toll on the team. First there was the Rich Energy saga and then the Uralkali deal, which was scrapped in the 2022 pre-season.
Nikita Mazepin’s presence in the 2021 and initially 2022 driver line-up was seen exclusively as due to his father Dmitry’s Uralkali company deal, rather than his past efforts in junior racing as a two-time winner racing in Formula 2.
But with Kevin Magnussen brought in to replace Mazepin as Mick Schumacher’s teammate, Haas was able to find his feet and arguably repair his reputation, a P5 finish for Magnussen straight out of the blocks in Bahrain the perfect way to make a statement.
And with MoneyGram now on the scene as Haas’ main sponsor, it looks like a more enduring partnership with strong potential to take Haas further up the grid, potentially on its best days when it finished P5 in the Constructors’ Championship. 2018.
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