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2019 tech verdict: Haas suffers a season to forget

Join us as we delve into Giorgio Piola’s 2019 archive and bring you insight into the relentless development undertaken by the teams throughout a season in the pursuit of more performance. In today’s gallery we will focus on… Haas.

A somewhat bizarre season for the Haas F1 Team, with the off-track distraction of the Rich Energy sponsor saga added to by technical woes that led to running its cars in two different specifications at times in an attempt to solve handling inconsistency issues.

It ended the season with Romain Grosjean using the very floor in the final race of the season that he’d used in pre-season testing! Team boss Gunther Steiner admitted it was a “lame duck” and “for me, 2019 never happened and we can forget about that year happening”.

 

Haas F1 Team VF-19 front brake detail

Haas F1 Team VF-19 front brake detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The VF19 shared commonality with Ferrari on a number of parts, due to their technical partnership, one of which was the use of a novel brake drum design. The solution looked to simulate the blown axle that Haas had used in previous seasons, delivering airflow captured by the brake duct inlet to the wheel face, in order that the wake created by the wheel and tyre be adjusted.

Haas F1 Team technical detail

Haas F1 Team technical detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Taken at the Azerbaijan GP this image gives us a great view of the bargeboard and sidepod deflector region on the VF19.

Haas F1 Team VF-19 turning vanes

Haas F1 Team VF-19 turning vanes

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

While the majority of the field had moved onto under-nose cape solutions, Haas continued to field more traditional vertical turning vanes on the VF19. In search of some additional performance, it added these additional fins at the Spanish GP too.

Haas F1 Team rear technical detail

Haas F1 Team rear technical detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Haas ran a double-hooped and slotted T-Wing for the Monaco GP along with an additional blade between the rear wing pillars as it searched for as much rear-end performance as it could get.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team VF-19 sidepod detail

Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team VF-19 sidepod detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Struggling for performance in the opening phase of the season the team began to split the design path, installing updates only on one car – usually Magnussen’s car. For the German GP the Dane was given a new bargeboard setup, including the mid-height boomerang we’d seen used elsewhere on the grid.

Haas F1 Team VF-19, bargeboard

Haas F1 Team VF-19, bargeboard

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The boomerang seen from above, incorporating slots within its surface to comply with the regulations.

Haas F1 Team VF-19 rear wing detail

Haas F1 Team VF-19 rear wing detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

At the rear of the car the team also introduced a new idea in the rear wing’s transition zone, installing these fluted louvres, rather than the more conventional strakes.

Haas F1 Team rear wing technical detail

Haas F1 Team rear wing technical detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

For comparison, the VF19’s rear wing had sported the more conventional vertical strakes prior to the update.

Haas VF-19 front wing detail

Haas VF-19 front wing detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

With an eye on 2020 the team looked at another front wing solution in the closing stages of the season. The unloaded style wing (bottom) bears much more of a resemblance to the solution fielded by Ferrari and Alfa Romeo throughout the rest of the season.

Haas F1 Team VF-19 and Ferrari SF90 front wing detail comparison

Haas F1 Team VF-19 and Ferrari SF90 front wing detail comparison

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The changes made to the wing also necessitated a change of tact when it comes to the endplate design with a notch removed in the upper corner.

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