Williams F1 team principal Jost Capito has called Haas as Ferrari’s “B-Team” accounting for how closely both teams operate.
B-teams have been a topic of debate in F1 for a long time, with both sides getting equal and credible support.
Although, getting a completely new chassis from the existing manufacturer would cut costs hugely for a new team. But, it would also require big changes in regulations ensuring that every team offers a unique machinery design on the grid.
Earlier, Racing Point – now the Aston Martin team – was condemned for copying the Mercedes F1 car. It was later labeled as the ‘Pink Mercedes’. Similarly, this year Aston Martin‘s car earned the nickname of ‘Green Red Bull’. The team was blamed for copying the Red Bull sidepod concept earlier this year.
Haas’s new upgrades have caught Jost Capito’s eye
Nevertheless, Haas has caught the eye of Williams Team Principal Jost Capito after the latest upgrades by the American outfit.
After the latest upgrades, Haas’ car was compared to Ferrari given its resemblance to the Scarlett Ferrari. It would go on to earn the nickname of ‘White Ferrari’.
Haas’ office design is established in Maranello around Ferrari’s headquarters. Whilst confident of FIA monitoring the relationship to ensure everything is aboard, Capito has still questioned this closeness.
“You have to think that what nobody really knows, how close the relationship is with Haas and Ferrari,”
Capito told in an interview.
“They work out of a Ferrari building and have Ferrari engineers working on their car, so whatever that means. The FIA says they do it all right, that it is fine, so it must be right.
“And I believe that for this year, to start from scratch, a team that is like a B team for an A team has an advantage.
“As a fully independent team like us. We didn’t have any co-operation with anybody and we had to do everything really from scratch.”
Well, team copying others has always been an issue. Weak and backmarker teams often try to copy the front runners to gain performance advantage like them. Haas copying Ferrari this season is no surprise too.
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