Cars, Sepang, 2014

FIA accepts Haas team entry, considers Forza Rossa

2015 F1 season

Posted on

| Written by

The FIA has accepted an entry from Haas Formula to participate in the 2015 F1 season – and is considering an application from a second team.

The new team run by NASCAR team owner Gene Haas was given the go-ahead to compete next year following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Morocco.

A statement from the FIA added they “are in the process of conducting further investigations for Forza Rossa”. It described the applications which were submitted were “of a high standard” and said the decision had been taken in “close consultation” with Bernie Ecclestone.

If both teams were to appear on the grid in time for next season Formula One would have a full 26-car field for the first time in 20 years. However the last American team which tried to enter the sport, US F1, collapsed before the first race of the season in 2010.

This was also the last year any new teams entered Formula One: Lotus, Virgin and HRT. The latter collapsed at the end of 2012 and the other two have since changed names to Caterham and Marussia respectively.

The FIA added a meeting on the subject of cost reduction has been scheduled for May 1st to involve all the Formula One teams plus Jean Todt and Ecclestone. It will be followed by a meeting of the F1 Strategy Group.

In a further development, the WMSC said “preliminary results” are expected shortly on the possibility of altering the noise of the 2014 specification engines.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

2014 F1 season


Browse all 2014 F1 season articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

112 comments on “FIA accepts Haas team entry, considers Forza Rossa”

  1. Exciting stuff.

    1. @georgeod I don’t get it, really.

      Entering the sport for the very, very first time. It’s an unknown place for the owner, the team, and in recent history, the country. The sport is changing very quickly, and in 8 months, they’ll have to have a car ready to compete all around the world.

      I’d be a bit (a lot) better if they accepted entries for 2016, not 2015. Because next year I’m sure of what’s gonna happen: critics are gonna critizise the newer teams for months… race after race.

      1. Maybe they just want to learn-by-doing in 2015 and get serious in 16.

        1. @hohum @fer-no65 I agree, let’s not be so pessimistic. Admittedly the sport is changing super quickly and adapting is key. But if Haas were to ‘bomb out’ it would beef up the mid/back field and the Caterham-Marussia formula would have another factor to contend with. Some might say it will only add another backmarker, with no hope of competing with the big teams but I think the performance gap we see in F1 today is another issue

        2. @hohum but Haas originally asked to start his team for 2016 season so they had time to build and test because he saw this process as lengthy and time consuming. He was right and the FIA want him to start in 2015

          1. He should buy Caterham, and just throw more money at it!!

  2. I’ll make my early predictions for Haas:

    Ferrari engines. Esteban Gutierrez and Alexander Rossi as drivers. Conor Daly as primary tester. Martin Whitmarsh as Team Principal. 9th in WDC.

    1. Ferrari? I wonder if BWM announcing their will to return already in 2015 is serious, we’ll see

      1. I read that they said they will release some more information next week.

          1. maarten.f1 (@)
            11th April 2014, 22:59

            @hunocsi

            I’d rather read the official statement from BMW than going on some blog that is not officially affiliated at all with the company. The post basically only says this about the so called denial:

            To put the fires away and suppress any future rumors, BMW spokesman Joerg Kottmeier denied the rumors and said that nothing has changed in the strategic plans of BMW Motorsport.

            Now it would be interesting to know what the BMW spokesman actually said. Did he say “No, we’re not going to do this”, or did he just say that the strategy hasn’t changed? The blog doesn’t quote any official statement either way.

          2. @maarten-f1
            You’re right, I saw it mentioned on a Hungarian site and just quickly googled an English one, but here is the original, German article.

            It pretty much says Formula 1 is not on the table, they’re busy with DTM and USCC.

      2. petebaldwin (@)
        11th April 2014, 20:33

        @spoutnik – This is purely a guess but what about BMW taking over Lotus? The team is struggling at the moment but if they got some money behind them, the guys at Enstone have a proven record. Take over soon, spend the year as a test to design next year’s car whilst ensuring you get decent engines – perhaps Honda?

        1. It may even be in BMW’s interest to make their own engines as part of the development for road cars.

        2. @petebaldwin hmmm Lotus-BMW? Sounds ok to me, furthermore at that stage Grosjean would even be willing to ride a mower, he deserves better :)

    2. hmm do you really think Ross Brawn really retired?

      1. rocketscientist
        12th April 2014, 7:13

        Clearly it’s Ross who’s behind the Forza Rossa entry!

    3. My money is on Honda, or if Merc wants to keep supplying as many engines, they will pick up McLarens spot.

    4. HAAS himself originally said Ferrari, but recently there has been talk of him using Ford instead, due to the Detroit housing that they are going to build engines at @memorablec and @storm

      1. @magillagorilla Right. Cosworth opened a new office in Detroit and had designed an engine for the new regulations, so the parts fit. One of Cosworth’s reasons for leaving F1 was a lack of OEM support, so we might see the return of Ford-labeled Cosworth engines.

        So we have turbo engines, Honda is coming back to work with McLaren, Ferrari making rubbish cars, and Cosworth attempting to stage a comeback. It might not be as wild as he 1980s, but…

      2. UNeedAFinn2Win
        12th April 2014, 9:12

        No they did not. This story gets repeated all over and it’s simply not true.Kalkhoeven put out a story thru his buddies at Racecar-Engineering to drum up interest in his out-of-seriuos-motorsport-conract Cosworth so that the brand wouldn’t die. Cosworth designed a straight line4 cylinder way back before the V6 was decided as the only configuration to be used. The PURE- project died on that little late arrived detail as well. There are some beautiful renderings of a current spec Cosworth floating about, but a real power unit with all the trimmings, never been built.

  3. Great news! Welcome to the club, Gene Haas!

    What is Forza Rossa? Ferrari dealer in Romania? http://www.bucuresti.ferraridealers.com/

    1. Maybe the Kolles led team?

    2. A financial services company I believe

    3. Stefan GP Part 2?

    4. Force India: Italy edition?

  4. Good news. Now some more engine suppliers like BMW and Cosworth and we’ve got a healthy looking grid again.

  5. So Forza Rossa, anyone like to take a guess at what kind of engines they might be planning to use…

    1. Diesel :-D

    2. Ferrari junior team!

      1. Please no! I hate junior teams. They serve no absolute purpose to the sport. We already have one of them. Don’t make it more…

        1. I disagree. With the very limited testing, it is a good way for young drivers to experience an F1 car. Vettel and Ricciardo are great examples.

          1. Yeah, but… They fill grid spots for other possible F1 teams. And their destiny is to always remain a midfield team or backmarkers. They’ll never be anywhere near the top. Even if they remain in F1 for 100 more years (yeah there’s the case of 2008, but does anyone think that will happen again?) . Also, I hate them because it’s like there are 4 team mates on the same track. I remember cursing like a madman where in the latter stages of 2012 the STRs where just letting Vettel past like the latter was lapping some backmarkers…

        2. I agree but Red Bull have one, and it worked for them so i could definitely see Ferrari doing the same. Especially because of how big their YDP is getting.

        3. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
          11th April 2014, 23:41

          @nickf12013 – I agree in that the senior team is then obliged to justify its investment by promoting a driver from the junior team, not simply the best driver available, as we saw with Ricciardo being chosen over Raikkonen to replace Webber last year. That said, such teams are part of structures designed to help young drivers without sponsorship, like Vettel, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Magnussen, find a footing in F1, so if short sighted driver signing are the cost of a system that gets the real talent up the ladder, then I’m wholly in favour.

          1. I think ricciardo is better then raikkonen. His driving this year is proving so.

          2. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
            12th April 2014, 9:50

            I think you would be in the minority on that assertion…

      2. I expect either Marussia or Sauber to turn into that. Sauber has already housed Massa and Perez, who knows. I wouldnt rule out Mclaren, Mercedes or Ferrari creating junior teams. Assuming no one would buy those teams, thats a half decent way of keeping a healthy field, while ensuring young drivers can have better chances without sponsorship.

        1. mercedes doesn’t even have official test/development/simulator/whatever driver.. let alone young driver program.. am i right?

      3. Just like Red Bull when STR started, the senior team might well be awful enough to be beaten by the junior team…

    3. That name made me chuckle, I know it means “red force” but for me and everyone who speaks spanish this team will always sound like “pink force”.

    4. Toyota Prius ?

  6. If the cost reduction doesn’t go through, I expect a repeat of US F1… Bernie & co will milk the publicity of a potential American team for all it’s worth, but in the end, there still won’t be an American team.

    1. The biggest problem with USF1 was Anderson being convinced that designing and building their own chassis in-house was their best bet instead of going with Dallara like Windsor wanted. That and many other issues including funding (equally a big issue). Haas seems to recognise this by going with Dallara initially and has his massive company to work with not to mention he will have other notable contacts for funding given his status in US Motorsport.

      1. Don’t forget 2009 was the year of Global Financial Crisis.

      2. Not to mention that Haas has a documented, multi-decade, multi-billion dollar track record of success as a team owner and entrepreneur, while Peter Windsor had a track record of success as…a very creepy journalist and ineffective team official.

        1. May I ask, have you met him? I have several times, I’ve been on his show and he’s a really nice guy with an obvious passion for the sport.

        2. Thats a bit narrow minded, he is a great journalist and knows f1 better then most

          1. He maybe a great journalist, but I have always found him a little creepy and I certainly prefer DC, EJ and the rest as presenters.

          2. I can’t stand EJ as a presenter. The one thing he is good for is getting scoops.

        3. Peter Windsor is a legend in my book can’t knock the guy for his hard work and passion for information on F1, his YouTube channel often has been invaluable to me over winter testing and the start to these new regulations, and if you get the chance to meet him in person you won’t meet a nicer guy.
          You find him creepy? Yet prefer EJ ? Lol

        4. @J.Danek You are also forgetting the fact that he worked as Sponsorship Manager with Williams at their zenith…

  7. Did they apply on the basis of a cost-cap that’s apparently no longer coming?

    And if so, is this history repeating itself already?

  8. “If both teams were to appear on the grid in time for next season Formula One would have a full 26-car field for the first time in 20 years.”

    Not out of the realm of possibility, but it is very possible that a few teams (Caterham, likely) won’t make it back next year unless they start moving up the grid or can find a decent title sponsor.

    1. @obi-spa-kenobi I’d rate the chances of it actually happening very low. But by all means bookmark this to quote back at me when it does actually happen :-)

      1. If you might recall, Caterhams owner has threatened to quit if they don’t improve:
        http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jan/21/tony-fernandes-caterham-f1-quit
        And despite a good running in pre-season testing, they haven’t shown much for it.

        1. “Despite WHAT”!?

          1. They had the most mileage of any Renault powered teams in pre-season testing. Perhaps they didn’t show pace even then, but the reliability of their set-up said something.

        2. Marussia are the main ones under threat right now I think. Marussia motors have folded, which means they have lost the majority of their backing – and considering they already had a budget much smaller than that of Caterham if I am not mistaken, they are in a perilous situation should they be unable to find a new owner.

          Which I suppose opens up the possibility of Forza Rossa buying out Marussia – they already being supplied by Ferrari engines.

          Caterham are an odd case: I feel that they have the most secure infrastructure of the two remaining new teams and seem to have not struggled too much in attracting sponsorship (having technical partnerships with Airbus and GE Aviation), but according to their owner are the most under threat. It seems strange that what appear to be a relatively secure team, who albeit are struggling with getting a handle on the reliability of their car, are facing the door. Sure, they have failed to taste success, but they aren’t fundamentally a bad team. They are certainly far more successful than Simtek or Pacific GP.

          1. @vettel1 I recall reading this somewhere, but Marussia Motors and Marussia F1 are separate entities. Although I fail see how one doesn’t effect the other

          2. As long as Mr.Booth doesn’t try to get money from Quantum I think he’s going to be fine:p

            Oh, and Caterham has NEVER, EVER failed to pre-qualify, right? :p

  9. Forza Rossa, a junior team to Ferrari?

  10. Delighted to see some fresh stuff! This is great, welcome Haas!

  11. Whilst it’s good news I can’t help feeling that 2015 is going to be too soon for both teams, more so Forza Rossa if the deal isn’t yet finalised. They’ve basically got 9-10 months to design and build a car, even partnering with Dallara won’t make it easy, HRT ran a Dallara chassis remember. And who will supply them with engines? If Cosworth can get their design in to production they could be branded Ford for the US connection I guess.

    One benefit Haas have is that Gene owns a wind tunnel which the team will be able to utilise to develop the Dallara chassis and then design their own for further seasons.

    I just hope that this doesn’t end up as a repeat of 2010…

    1. Honda will supply the engines as it’s not true that they’re exclusive to McLaren, for they are building a production and support facility that is simply far, far too big based not just on square footage/area but also on the projected energy consumption (and the infrastructure updates requested to facilitate this) to be dedicated to supply and servicing one team only.

      1. Honda IS exclusive to McLaren for ONE YEAR.

  12. Great to see a team from US joining F1 finally. Hope both drivers will be Americans and the final name of the team won’t be Forza Rossa ! I’d like to see an american team as much as possible. Also, hope they’ll start with a Honda engine, but would have been really cool to see an american engine installed in the car.

  13. So what’s the chance of Haas actually making it to the 2015 grid? Based on 2010, I’d say about 75%, but I would lower that if they still want to base their team in the USA.

    Forza Rossa sounds.. a bit vague at the moment.

    1. Well, it is Red Force. Sounds like somebody is attempting to be Ferrari here. And they would most likely fail. I reckon they will change that ;)

    2. Got to agree with the US location factor. F1 – whether we like it or not – is a European-based sport. All the major suppliers to the teams are British, the majority of the workforce originate from Europe and for convenience’s sake it is far easier to participate in tests if you are based in Central Europe.

      Of course, it would be excellent if they could establish themselves in the USA as it would truly globalise the sport and inject some diversity – but I imagine it may turn out to be a stumbling block (at least initially).

      Though I suppose at the moment their intentions are unclear.

      1. @vettel1
        I think a US location is only impractical when it comes to the logistics (although if you have 4 races in north America it might help.)

        Dont forget that the US is quite a big country, and they have a lot of motorsport subcontractor and suppliers. I would say, having been there working with motorsport, that basing yourself in or close to Indianapolis would give you just as good a spot as basing yourself in the West-Midlands. Less so if they stick with their Charlotte, SC, location but still comparable.

        As to the staff situation, I think most of the staff is European in F1, simply because F1 is in Europe. The US has enough qualified engineers, mechanichs, strategists and so on to supply a complete F1 team. Also getting a lot of european staff, wouldnt be easy, with the braindead american immigration law.

  14. Very good news, glad to hear it.
    I’m semi confident they’ll put cars on the grid, if they can’t there is something wrong IMO.

    1. “Something wrong IMO” with the whole process to entry and ‘maybe even F1’ I mean.

  15. petebaldwin (@)
    11th April 2014, 20:26

    If Forza Rossa is just Ferrari, I’d be surprised if Haas doesn’t become AMG Haas fairly soon!

  16. Why are they rushing it for next year? Why can’t the new teams just be patient and try to join in 2016? They’ll have a much worse time this way.

    1. You have to learn to walk before you run.

      1. @hohum But first you would need legs, wouldn’t you? That requires time as well.

  17. All great new, but leave the sound alone. It’s really not why I watch F1. It’s cool when it’s loud, but if anything is going to be changed regarding the performance, they shouldn’t touch it. Unless they are gonna put a microphone near the exhaust and play it on the sound system around the track, I’m not sure I wanna see any change to the sound.

    1. Totally agree.

    2. All they can really do to increase the sound level is allow the engines to rev higher. Which means they will logically have to increase the maximum fuel flow rate. Which may in turn have to lead to an increase in the amount of fuel allowed for a race distance to remove any glaring disparities in performance between phases of the race. Which flies in the face of the purpose of these regulations being introduced in the first place. Back to square one.

      Leave them alone, they sound fine.

      P.S. – I enjoy being able to hear more varied sounds than constant engine whaling from a V8 – such as tyre squeals and fans cheering. It contributes to the overall atmosphere of an event. And the fact the new power units are evidently more powerful than their predecessors can only be a good thing.

      1. Are you watching at home or at the race track, because your experience will be different depending on where you watch from.
        If you are at the race track, you don’t get to see the cars as frequently as those watching on TV, and now you may not even hear them racing in the distance.
        It wasn’t just the volume of the old engines that enthralled, it was also the richness of the notes. At a time when ticket prices are at a record high, it will be the race venues that suffer poor ticket sales, and not the TV broadcasters.
        The broadcasters can liven up the experience for us at home, but there is nothing you can do for those at the race venue.

    3. Nope, they sound crap. To avid fans, yes they are acceptable, as we focus on every detail in the sport, but to the lay sports fan warching not every race and going to a race now and then, there is a precedent of 20 years of high revving and high volume sound, it was an experience that is gone now. Now its like watching a lower tier formula. i suspect they will change the fuel flow rules, so they can rev out to the rev limit, this will make them sound racier and louder. Some people defend the current sound, but i bet if they had a choice of the current sound, or something louder and higher revving they would not choose todays sound. Gp2 and indycar sound better. The v8 supercars were louder in melbourne… Touring cars outdoing f1 good grief! They sound like motorcycles from onboard.

  18. Who’s behind Forza Rossa? It’s not a great name – we’ve already got Force India and Toro Rosso. Any chance of an Italian driver? (I know, that’s a ridiculous idea…)

    1. Yes. Marciello.

      It’ll be Marciello and Bianchi.

      1. I thought Bianchi was supposed to be moving UP the grid, not at a new back marker team…

      2. “It’ll be Marciello and Bianchi”

        Neither of these two where even born in Italy.

        1. Perhaps not, but Marciello races under an Italian license – much like Grosjean is Swiss but races under a French license, and people still call him French – and I think that’ll be good enough.

          And Bianchi is another Ferrari development driver. With Forza Rossa all set to be a Ferrari B-Team, it wouldn’t make sense to put anyone other than Bianchi and Marciello in the cars.

          Meanwhile Haas will go for Alex Rossi and Danica Patrick.

          1. Also, Bianchi is of Italian descent.

  19. An American team is exactly what F1 needs. I very much hope they’ll make it and can join the midfield right from the start (wishfull thinking, i know..)

    1. Haas new biggest fan :) Even if they are straight garbage next year….

      ‘Merica.

      1. I am their biggest fan already!

      2. It’s spelled ‘Muricah! :)
        I’m really excited about new teams. Granted, I can’t call my self a new biggest fan, but I’ll be glad to see some new and hopefully competitive teams. :)

  20. Yay we have 24 cars again!!! :D

  21. Great news, more teams on the grid means more chances for young drivers to actually get a shot at F1. Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly would be examples if Haas wanted to push for an all-American style team.
    I’ve never heard a thing about Forza Rossa before though, does anyone know anything about them?

  22. Psyched for a new team, welcome Haas!

  23. Just a point regarding Dallara who took a beating in 2010 for how bad the HRT was.

    That car would have been a lot better had Dallara not stopped developing it when Campos defaulted on payments. When the team was brought & renamed HRT the car design/development hadn’t been touched for about 4 months & the only built car available was overweight, A 2nd chassis was rushed for Bahrain & while lighter was still overweight.

    Then Dallara split with HRT & Dallara had zero input on the development of that car although they did finish fabrication on 2 new chassis which were much lighter & did continue to supply parts until new suppliers were found.
    Bruno then binned one of the lighter chassis at the Spanish Gp so had to run the rest of the year with chassis #1 which was a big disadvantage for him over the 2nd car.

    Providing Haas honor the payments which will allow Dallara to develop the car through to completion & beyond then the car should be a decent package.

    I’d also guess that the chassis will be built at Dallara’s new Indianapolis factory which I believe also has a brand new state of the art windtunnel.

    Engines are expected to come from Ferrari, But I wouldn’t be surprised to see him switch to a Ford badged Cosworth.
    Cosworth have designed & developed a V6 Turbo, But they don’t want to put it into full production without a team to partner up with.

    1. Stewart-Haas races for Chevrolet in NASCAR, I would definitely be surprised if Haas’ F1 team runs a Ford engine.

  24. This is great news. Ferrari has another back-marker they can beat next year.

  25. Speaking as an American, please don’t judge us based on USF1.

    I don’t think that it’s really fair to compare Haas to USF1. USF1 was run by idiots that made huge mistakes. Haas knows how to run a team and win races, he’s just got to take it to the next level. It’ll take time and be a slow process, but i think he’s capable of doing it. Being in the US is a bit of a disadvantage, but I think you could minimize that by having a US headquarters and a satellite office in England. I’d consider it a win if they can build a car and qualify to start most of the races next year and move on from there. Hell, when you look at the full history, it took the team currently known as Red Bull 17 or 18 years to start winning races.

  26. Very good news for F1. Lets hope there are no issues from now till next year and lets hope they are at least on the pace. Good for the sport, isn’t this why the regs changed. Honda are coming in as are a new team. Good luck to them

  27. There was no way Dallara could have developed a very competitive car based on how much they were going to be paid. If they were going to sell the cars to perhaps 3 or more teams, then they could have done even more aerodynamic investigations. But with just HRT as a customer, Dallara was just going to provide a functional design with a basic aerodynamic profile.

  28. Very exciting news. The new rules have breathed new life into F1. All they need now is cost caps and to get rid of DRS and double points.

  29. Forza Rossa sounds like a merger of Toro Rosso and Force India, which leads me to think about what would happen if Caterham and Marussia would merge; Catrussia or Marterham?

    You could go on; Sauliams, Wilber..

    1. Mclarri?
      Merctus?

  30. I’m glad when NON-british teams enter the F1.

  31. I wouldent be surprised if they use honda as their engine provider

  32. I wouldent be surprised if they use honda as their engine provider

  33. Mark in Florida
    12th April 2014, 21:55

    I think it’s a good idea for the sport to have more team’s. It will strengthen the field and give some diversity. With the new engine changes , more team’s means more information available to make the engines better. Gene Haas is no fool he has a good idea already of what it will take to get it off the ground. The Dallara chassis would just be a starter if they went that route until they developed their own. Engine power is the primary point, chassis a close second of course. A great engine can cover up some chassis weakness, a great chassis won’t make your faster down the straight just ask the Renault powered team’s.

Comments are closed.