Haas System 1 group founder Gene Haas drove a grand prix automobile in public for the primary time on the Goodwood Pageant of Velocity on Friday.
The 72-year-old American entrepreneur took the wheel of the 2023-spec VF-23 for 2 runs up the well-known Goodwood Hill, marking a particular celebration of Haas F1 Workforce’s tenth anniversary.
Resulting from his age and expertise, the American drove the automobile at lowered hurries up the hill, however that got here with its personal set of challenges.
It marked solely his second time behind the wheel of an F1 automobile, following a shakedown on Silverstone’s Stowe circuit final month as preparation for the occasion.
Workforce principal Ayao Komatsu was instrumental in convincing Haas to participate within the demonstration, and joined him at Goodwood to share within the second. Komatsu additionally sampled an F1 automobile himself, driving final 12 months’s VF-24.
“When Ayao first requested me about driving right here at Goodwood, it appeared like an terrible lot of labor only for an tour up a hill,” stated Haas. “I didn’t know in regards to the Pageant of Velocity beforehand, actually, however it was intriguing to me—and now I perceive why so many followers come right here.
“It’s the occasion to see so many alternative vehicles – outdated and new, not solely System 1 vehicles – so it actually does provide followers an opportunity to see vehicles they’ve solely seen on TV or within the films.
“I’m liking the vehicles from the ‘40s and ‘50s as a result of it’s wonderful that these groups made vehicles that went 150 mph with the essential instruments they’d in comparison with now.
“My first impression of being in a System 1 automobile was that it’s very tight in there. There are a whole lot of nuances you need to study – the clutch, the shifting – there are one million issues occurring. However the hardest factor is making an attempt to drive a really quick automobile at a really sluggish pace.”
Haas, who made his first foray into motorsport by means of NASCAR, launched his eponymous F1 group in 2016 with a particular mannequin constructed round a detailed technical alliance with Ferrari.
Whereas a number of different new entrants over the previous twenty years have rapidly come and gone, Haas has remained a constant presence on the grid, profiting from its streamlined strategy.
“We’re nonetheless the brand new guys on the block,” he added. “So I’m actually impressed while you look right here on the legacy of all of the outdated vehicles. You see the names, and a few of the individuals aren’t even right here anymore.
“That’s very spectacular – and hopefully, our title will begin to enter historical past too.”
Haas launched a Testing of Earlier Vehicles (TPC) programme this 12 months, enabling it to take part in occasions like Goodwood. It adopted the group placing a technical partnership with Toyota.
Komatsu revealed that getting Haas into the cockpit of the VF-23 was his thought, calling it a becoming approach to mark the group’s decade in F1.
“The truth that we hadn’t been to Goodwood earlier than made it much more particular,” stated Komatsu. “And for Gene – the founder and sole proprietor of the group – what a second to drive his personal automobile.
“He owns the whole lot. He’s not a company investor or a non-public fairness man. He’s the proprietor, and he’s extremely passionate.
“Typically you don’t see him fairly often, so I believed it will be good for him to take pleasure in what he’s created. After I requested him in Miami, ‘Gene, that is your celebration. Will you drive?’ he stated, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’
“I might see he was a bit nervous, however I stated to him: it’s time to take pleasure in what you’ve constructed, after the whole lot you’ve given over the previous ten years.”
Toyota’s Kazuki Nakajima additionally took the VF-23 up the hill at Goodwood on Friday. Haas’ race drivers Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon will even participate within the FoS on Saturday and Sunday.
