Tech insight - Haas’s extreme American aero

US team Haas introduced their biggest new aero package of the season at their home race in Austin…

Most visible was the revolution made in the VF-17’s barge board section, with a very sophisticated layout based on Ferrari’s principle of having a horizontal bargeboard with big slots, or fingers (red arrow), in front of the sidepod’s upper section. Haas have made the fingers even sharper, and have not included them in a fairing – meaning the team’s mechanics will have to take great care when working on this part of the car. It’s a big evolution for Haas, but such extreme solutions are likely to raise further questions over whether the rules give teams too much design freedom in this area.