Haas goes 'Bigger, Better, Faster, Lighter' with VF-17

Haas has released the first official images and a video of its second Formula 1 car ahead of the start of pre-season testing tomorrow.

Leaked images of the VF-17 first appeared during a filming day Saturday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday, showing a darker livery compared to last season and a sculpted shark fin on the engine cover. The new car – which is built by Dallara in Italy – also features tight sidepods and a thumb tip nose.

On Sunday morning, Haas has officially launched the new car, with team principal Guenther Steiner saying reducing weight was a priority for the team.

"I think the pedal box is the same, but all the rest is very different from last year's car," Steiner said. "You always try to make a faster car, which is normally a lighter car. Now we can put on more ballast and get better weight distribution. The aero is completely new, as are the tires, so we needed to have some built-in adjustability.

"Aesthetically, the car has a more aggressive look. It's lighter and more aerodynamically efficient. Everything we learned from our first car has been applied to our new car."

Team owner Gene Haas says the continuous improvements sought by the F1 team with a new car reflects well on his core business.

"Being a Formula 1 participant brings a level of credibility that you just won't get through traditional advertising," Haas said. "People are kind of 'show me' people, like show me what you can do and then I'll believe in you. That was the initial concept – to convince people of our ability to do things others can't, and I think that translates into being a machine tool builder.

"Bigger, Better, Faster, Lighter is what we strive for in the machining industry and it's what we strive for in motorsports. People see what we can do in Formula 1, and people believe Haas Automation can build world-class machine tools."

The 2017 car is the second car Haas has produced following its debut last year, with the team setting itself the target of beating last season's eighth place in the constructors' championship. Once again it will make use of a close technical partnership with Ferrari – being the only customer to run the 2017 Ferrari power unit – while Kevin Magnussen has joined the driver line-up alongside Romain Grosjean.

Click on the thumbnails below for larger images.

{igallery id=794|cid=614|pid=5|type=category|children=0|addlinks=0|tags=|limit=0}