Haas follow Mercedes logic with Ferrari inspired upgrades

Haas introduced a large number of changes in its Austin upgrade package despite just four races remaining after the United States Grand prix this season.

The reasons for this development seem to all be concentrated on its prospects for next season, embracing the sloping sidepod design philosophy now followed by all cars on the grid.

The introduction of the new concept of sidepods - one that abandons the infamous scalloped sidepods that originally characterised only the SF-23 and VF-23 - should therefore be read more as a realignment to the concepts expressed by the Scuderia's car than a departure.

We mean to say that at this moment that the two cars are perfectly aligned in terms of the evolution of the original concept and this finds a valid reason in coordinating - in relation to the adoption of the same power unit. transmission and suspensions - the basic approach of the VF-24 project based on the characteristics that are already known and will be an integral part of the Ferrari.

There would have been no reason to continue with the previous conformation of the sidepods of the VF-23 as it would not have allowed a real evaluation of the aerodynamic concept of next season's machinery.

The data collected from Austin, where performance was objectively not equal to expectations, constitutes what will be a competitive advantage when referring to this phase of detailed study of the aerodynamic setup of the VF-24.

It seems correct, in any case, to reiterate that the engineers led by Technical Director Simone Resta did not consider the introduction of this extensive development as substantially capable of releasing the potential that has at times been shown with the current car.

Rather, as we have already defined the Mercedes W14, it is the putting on track of a real travelling laboratory, which allows the team not only to rely on simulation data but also verify the effects of the modifications in real conditions.

In an F1 world where testing is practically banned, the need to experiment on the track during race weekends becomes increasingly important to avoid taking directions which - under the influence of limits imposed by the budget cap - could not be changed during the season.