F1 2024 track action ramps up as Haas show off VF-24 in Silverstone shakedown

Henry Valantine
2024 Haas VF-24 Render 5

The Haas VF-24 has hit the track for the first time.

Haas have offered a closer look at the VF-24 in posting a video on social media of their new car emerging from the pit lane at Silverstone on Sunday.

This comes hot on the heels of Stake F1, who ran their new car in Barcelona on Saturday as the run-up to pre-season testing in Bahrain next week continues.

Haas were the first team to launch their official car earlier in February, and have now run their car in earnest for the first time ahead of the new season.

Haas run new car for the first time at Silverstone

A short clip posted by Haas on social media saw the VF-24 leaving the pit lane for the first time, with team principal Ayao Komatsu having confirmed the team had planned their shakedown for this day in advance.

Having taken on the role of team boss from Guenther Steiner at short notice a month ago, he admitted it has played a part in how he has been able to settle into his new job.

“It has impacted things, as it was announced on January 10, and we’re running our car for the first time on February 11 – that’s a pretty short timeframe,” he said of his promotion.

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“However, in terms of car build and preparation for the test, it wasn’t a problem operationally. It wasn’t just my role, we had a Technical Director leave as well, so there were two significant vacancies to fill.

“We formalised and communicated this structural change as soon as we could. The timing of this transition period was not ideal; however, I’ve been very impressed with the maturity of everyone’s reaction.

“Thanks to this, we were able to keep the disruption to the minimum. Now we’ve clarified the structure, we should be full steam ahead.”

Komatsu is not expecting the VF-24 to be immediately competitive however, with the team having finished bottom of the Constructors’ Championship last season.

That said, there was a significant upgrade towards the end of last season that offered a hint about the direction they would be taking this time around.

“In terms of physical changes, as everyone knows, when we made the upgrade in Austin that was the concept towards this year’s car – but because we had the physical limitation of the side impact structure, rad-duct arrangement, and cooling arrangement, we couldn’t do the full-blown VF-24-type-concept,” he added.

“I knew exactly where we were going for this year, but everyone saw a preview in Austin.”

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