This January 31, Haas is showing how Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen’s 2023 race car will be painted. But who is actually the American racing team owner Gene Haas?
Haas F1 will soon show the colors in which the 2023 Grand Prix car of German Nico Hülkenberg and Dane Kevin Magnussen will appear. When the real VF-23 race car is about to hit the test track, one man stays in the background as usual – racing team owner Gene Haas. The 70-year-old American prefers to leave the limelight to his team manager Günther Steiner.
Who is the successful entrepreneur Gene Haas from Youngstown (Ohio), who entered the premier class in 2016?
Whether as a businessman or as a racing team boss – Eugene (Gene) Francis Haas’ approach is always the same: find a challenge, look for healthy and cost-effective solutions.
In 2016, Gene Haas did something in Formula 1 that hadn’t happened in a few attempts for 30 years: to start a US Grand Prix team. His predecessor was Carl Haas, of all people, who was not related to Gene.
Eugene Haas was born in the industrial town of Youngstown (Ohio). Perhaps that marked his path as an entrepreneur, since the region is considered the leading industrial region in North America. 50 years later, Haas would own the largest computerized machine tool shop in North America, Haas Automation.
The Haas family moved to Los Angeles when Gene was a young boy. The mother a teacher, the father an electrical designer for the aircraft manufacturer Hughes, exactly, the company of the enigmatic entrepreneur Howard Hughes (whose life was later filmed in Hollywood with Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Aviator”).
The Haas family also gave the second oldest of four children the following advice: work hard and take responsibility. Haas’ first jobs: delivering newspapers and mopping the floor in a locksmith’s shop. Haas was already tinkering with machine tools while he was still in high school.
With a degree in accounting and finance, Haas dropped out of college and became a programmer. But after three years (it’s now 1978) he founded his first own company – Proturn Engineering. Together with two employees, Haas stood at the workbench and manufactured metal parts for the aerospace industry.
Haas designed its first computer-controlled machine to speed up workflows, the Haas 5C. The machine placed workpieces in the right place to process them there. She could do that much faster and more accurately than a human.
The 5C sold so well that in 1983 the up-and-coming Gene named “Haas Automation Inc.” could set up, with three employees. Year after year he brought out new machines. Haas has moved twice and is now headquartered in Oxnard, California, with 1,300 employees and a global network of 170 customer centers.
Even today, 95 percent of all new product ideas come from the boss himself. A new machine is usually created (from the initial idea to the finished product) in twelve months.
In 2007, Haas built the Windshear wind tunnel, and in September 2008 the first Formula 1 team was a guest in the facility. But the passion for motorsport arose much earlier. Haas has always been passionate about racing and started out as a sponsor on the scene – in IndyCar racing and NASCAR’s stock cars. Of course, many racing teams have Haas CNC machines.
In 2002, Gene Haas decided to start a NASCAR team, initially with technical help from Rick Hendrick. After the first races in 2003, the newcomers contested their first full season in 2003, now with a new plant in Kannapolis (North Carolina).
Haas began running two vehicles and teamed up with NASCAR star Tony Stewart in July 2008. From 2012, the two-car team became a three-car team, with Danica Patrick. At this point Tony Stewart had won the first title for Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart-Haas has used four cars since 2014. Kevin Harvick took the second title for the racing team.
On April 11, 2014, Gene Haas received permission from the FIA car association to operate Formula 1 sports from 2016. Haas is working very closely with Ferrari on this. “Basically, we at Ferrari use all the parts that the regulations allow,” says the boss. The main ones are the engine, gearbox and suspension. The survival cell was built by Dallara in Italy, the racing cars are serviced in their own plant in Banbury (England), but the headquarters remain in Kannapolis, where a new plant with more than 11,600 square meters was built for Formula 1.
Gene Haas was able to celebrate in Australia at the start of the 2016 season: 6th place for Romain Grosjean. Things got even better in Bahrain: the man from Geneva finished fifth.
Haas finished the first GP season in eighth place among the constructors. Since the beginning of 2016, Haas has contested 144 Formula 1 World Championship races.
Highlights: World Championship final place 5 in 2018, two best race laps (Kevin Magnussen in Singapore 2018 and 2019), one pole position (Magnussen in São Paulo 2022), best result in a Grand Prix – Romain Grosjean in 4th place in the Grand Prix from Austria 2018 at the Red Bull Ring.
But the best result is not in any statistics: The Geneva Grosjean survived a terrible fire accident in Bahrain 2020 – thanks to the Halo head protection, thanks to the resistant Haas chassis and thanks to the use of numerous guardian angels.
Formula 1 2023
presentations
January 31: Haas F1 on the web
03. Februar: Red Bull Racing in New York
February 6: Williams online
February 7th: Alfa Romeo in Zurich
February 11: AlphaTauri in New York
13. Februar: McLaren in Woking
13. Februar: Aston Martin in Silverstone
14. Februar: Ferrari in Maranello
15. Februar: Mercedes in Silverstone
16. Februar: Alpine in London
Wintertests
23. bis 25. Februar: Bahrain International Circuit
Formula 1 World Championship Calendar
05.03. Bahrain-GP, Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir
19.03. Saudi-Arabien-GP, Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Dschidda
02.04. Australien-GP, Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne
30.04. Aserbaidschan-GP, Baku City Circuit, Baku *
07.05. Miami-GP, Miami International Autodrome, Miami
21.05. Emilia Romagna-GP, Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack, Imola
28.05. Monaco-GP, Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo
04.06. Spanien-GP, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló
18.06. Kanada-GP, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal
02.07. Austrian GP, Red Bull Ring, Spielberg *
09.07. Grossbritannien-GP, Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
23.07. Hungarian GP, Hungaroring, Budapest
30.07. Belgian-GP, Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, Spa *
27.08. Niederlande GP, Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort
03.09. Italien-GP, Monza National Autodrome, Monza
17.09. Singapur-GP, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapur
24.09. Japan-GP, Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka
08.10. Katar-GP, Losail International Circuit, Doha *
22.10. Austin-GP, Circuit of the Americas, Austin *
29.10. Mexico-GP, Hermann Rodriguez Autodrome, Mexico-Stadt
05.11. Brasilien-GP, Autodromo José Carlos Pace, Interlagos *
11.18. Las Vegas-GP, Las Vegas Street Circuit, Las Vegas
26.11. Abu Dhabi-GP, Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Island
* Sprint-Format