re: Formula 1 2020 Season Thread

Short answer: HAAS signed the Concorde Agreement, which says they have committed until at least 2025

Long answer: the new rules changes that are being gradually put in place over the next few years (mainly spending cap and tech development allotment) are designed to give bottom feeder teams a greater leg up on the competition

I.E. there is development scale based on the previous years performance which gives bottom feeder teams more development time, resources and upgrades per season over top tier teams, while spending will be progressively capped lower and lower each season

HAAS, Williams, Alfa Romeo, etc. are all banking that this will help even the field over a few years

Now add that HAAS has just signed a new driver (Nikita Mazepin),whose father is a Russian billionaire, to race for them next year and you can see that they have legitimate potential for success

I would imagine they look at how Renault has greatly improved over the past 2 seasons and want to copy that

Now add in the new car for 2022... how much work have they put into that?? No one really knows

So, to sum it all up, for a team that hasn't had a single podium, has agreed to stay in the sport until at least 2025, has massive financial backing and rules changes on their side, and potentially has future stars in their stable... They have a MASSIVE opportunity to change things around and finally have some success in the sport

I guess it all depends on how the next 4 years develop... I can tell you that Gene Haas absolutely hates losing and cant stand where his program is... Realistically, if HAAS were to develop into a team that is top of the midfield, I believe they would stay after 2025