Gunther Steiner: aggressive update programmes at the start of 2017

F1 News – Haas team principal Gunther Steiner reckons Formula 1 outfits will embark on aggressive update programmes at the start of 2017, as they get to grips with new rules.

F1 teams have revealed that they are still finding big leaps in downforce numbers as they work on their 2017 designs, which has provided a headache in terms of finalising the point when the car has to be signed off.

As a result, Steiner expects that a majority of teams will instead launch basic test spec cars when pre-season running kicks off at Barcelona in February, before bringing big development packages to the second test and opening races.

When asked by Motorsport.com about when Haas was going to lock down its 2017 design, Steiner said: “There is a point where you cannot hold back any more, as you cannot produce it any more.

“I think the temptation will be to have a zero version, and then immediately have big updates. You need a zero version to go testing, so that is the plan at the moment – to see what at the last moment you can sign off on the car.

“Everyone now is well organised and you know how long it takes to make a front wing, so there is a point where you have to sign off. Then everybody will be planning upgrades, as I think at the beginning the upgrades will be pretty steep.”

Steiner said Haas had its own update plan taking shape, but it was unlikely to be as big as that of major manufacturers like Mercedes and Ferrari.

“We have capacity but at a different level to the big teams,” he said. “There is a dimension to it in terms of how much you have got.

“We maybe can do a bargeboard and things like this, whereas bigger teams can bring complete new front and rear wings, and a floor. We maybe cannot do that.”

Blind development

Although most teams have now switched fully over to focusing on their 2017 cars, they do not have any idea how their efforts are stacking up against the opposition.

Steiner believes that all outfits will be playing it blind in terms of their progress until the first test at Barcelona.

“We seem pretty good in terms of what we know but we don’t know what the others are doing,” he said. “But they are in the same boat because they don’t know what we are doing. So you are trying to hit a moving target.

“What we can see, we try to do the best we can with the people we have got, and we try to make good progress. But until we get to Barcelona I think nobody will know for sure what is happening next year.

“I think that is very exciting for everybody and I hope we get out on top of it. I think it will be an interesting spring.”

Category: Formula One