Haas Method 1 workforce founder Gene Haas drove a grand prix automobile in public for the primary time on the Goodwood Pageant of Pace on Friday.
The 72-year-old American entrepreneur took the wheel of the 2023-spec VF-23 for 2 runs up the well-known Goodwood Hill, marking a particular celebration of Haas F1 Group’s tenth anniversary.
Because of his age and expertise, the American drove the automobile at diminished hastens the hill, however that got here with its personal set of challenges.
It marked solely his second time behind the wheel of an F1 automobile, following a shakedown on Silverstone’s Stowe circuit final month as preparation for the occasion.
Group principal Ayao Komatsu was instrumental in convincing Haas to participate within the demonstration, and joined him at Goodwood to share within the second. Komatsu additionally sampled an F1 automobile himself, driving final yr’s VF-24.
“When Ayao first requested me about driving right here at Goodwood, it appeared like an terrible lot of labor only for an tour up a hill,” mentioned Haas. “I didn’t know concerning the Pageant of Pace beforehand, truthfully, however it was intriguing to me—and now I perceive why so many followers come right here.
“It’s the occasion to see so many alternative automobiles – previous and new, not solely Method 1 automobiles – so it actually does provide followers an opportunity to see automobiles they’ve solely seen on TV or within the motion pictures.
“I’m liking the automobiles from the ‘40s and ‘50s as a result of it’s superb that these groups made automobiles that went 150 mph with the fundamental instruments that they had in comparison with now.
“My first impression of being in a Method 1 automobile was that it’s very tight in there. There are plenty of nuances it’s a must to be taught – the clutch, the shifting – there are 1,000,000 issues happening. However the hardest factor is attempting to drive a really quick automobile at a really gradual pace.”
Haas, who made his first foray into motorsport by NASCAR, launched his eponymous F1 workforce in 2016 with a particular mannequin constructed round an in depth technical alliance with Ferrari.
Whereas a number of different new entrants over the previous twenty years have shortly come and gone, Haas has remained a constant presence on the grid, benefiting from its streamlined method.
“We’re nonetheless the brand new guys on the block,” he added. “So I’m actually impressed whenever you look right here on the legacy of all of the previous automobiles. You see the names, and a few of the individuals aren’t even right here anymore.
“That’s very spectacular – and hopefully, our identify will begin to enter historical past too.”
Haas launched a Testing of Earlier Automobiles (TPC) programme this yr, enabling it to take part in occasions like Goodwood. It adopted the workforce putting a technical partnership with Toyota.
Komatsu revealed that getting Haas into the cockpit of the VF-23 was his thought, calling it a becoming approach to mark the workforce’s decade in F1.
“The truth that we hadn’t been to Goodwood earlier than made it much more particular,” mentioned Komatsu. “And for Gene – the founder and sole proprietor of the workforce – what a second to drive his personal automobile.
“He owns the whole lot. He’s not a company investor or a personal fairness man. He’s the proprietor, and he’s extremely passionate.
“Generally you don’t see him fairly often, so I believed it might be good for him to get pleasure from what he’s created. After I requested him in Miami, ‘Gene, that is your celebration. Will you drive?’ he mentioned, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’
“I might see he was a bit nervous, however I mentioned to him: it’s time to get pleasure from what you’ve constructed, after the whole lot you’ve given over the previous ten years.”
Toyota’s Kazuki Nakajima additionally took the VF-23 up the hill at Goodwood on Friday. Haas’ race drivers Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon can even participate within the FoS on Saturday and Sunday.
