Haas were one of the surprise Formula 1 teams to make significant progress in 2024 as they re-established themselves as midfield runners again.
Their new team boss Ayao Komatsu was a breath of fresh air and helped them to develop the car in a far better direction than they had in years prior.
It has led fans to think Guenther Steiner was Haas’ problem after leaving them in January, coinciding with their sudden rise.
Esteban Ocon replaces Nico Hulkenberg at Haas for 2025 after the German left to join the exciting Sauber project which will soon be taken over by Audi.
It means they will have a race-winner within their ranks for the first time in their history, pairing him with promising full-time rookie Oliver Bearman.
Should Haas continue to improve at a similar rate of knots to how they did in 2024, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to think that they could snag a surprise podium next season.
Haas scored more F1 points in 2024 than the four seasons prior
Coming into the season, Haas were not expecting any miracles and were very realistic about how they expected their car to perform.
Komatsu said this back in January after taking over as boss, and it’s clear to see what their mindset was: “For me, then the key is whatever the car in Bahrain, whatever problem we see, we try to understand it and then move from that point as a team,” he said.
“We are a small team as you know. We’ve got to move as one, otherwise, we don’t stand a chance. To answer your question directly, it is a step forward. Is it good enough? No. But what we do from that point is how we can show that we can improve the team or not.”
READ MORE: Esteban Ocon told real ‘reason’ for Alpine axe at Abu Dhabi GP, it was not Haas
Thanks to some terrific performances from Hulkenberg and teammate Kevin Magnussen throughout the year, they managed 58 points.
It was good enough for seventh in the Constructors’ Championship and was more points than they scored between the years of 2020 and 2023 combined (52).
Can Haas challenge Aston Martin in 2025?
The next logical step for Haas is to look ahead at some of the teams who beat them this year and target beating them.
A good start to the season earned Aston Martin fifth place in the Constructors’ standings but they tailed off towards the end of the year and showed signs of vulnerability.
Adrian Newey will have little influence on their car until 2026 meaning that there could be an opening for Haas to attack if they can find a little more speed.
READ MORE: The ‘funny’ thing Ayao Komatsu used to do to ‘wind up’ some of his Haas employees
Alpine showed major improvements and will be near them on track too but rookie driver Jack Doohan failed to impress much when standing in for Ocon at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
It’s the final year of the technical regulations which means that the teams will be closer to each other on track than they have been since 2021. It should make for fantastic viewing, and Haas look set to be stronger than they have been since they joined the grid in 2016.
Leave feedback about this