"I like the fact it's a different approach to what a normal F1 team would do and I think it's an approach that can be very quickly successful," Frenchman says
Wednesday 30 September 2015 07:20, UK
Romain Grosjean reckons Haas F1’s “different approach” to entering the sport means that the newcomers could be in a position to score points early next season.
"From what I've seen so far, we should be able to run straight away without the problems for new teams, which was part of my reason for the decision," the Frenchman said after being named as the American start-up's lead driver for the 2016 season.
"I think it will be really good to score a few points early in the season."
Haas have forged a technical partnership with Ferrari, which means their cars will share the same mechanical components.
The rules state that they must build their own chassis, but that has been developed using Ferrari's windtunnel - an approach which effectively means that Haas is a Ferrari 'B' team.
"I like the fact it's a different approach to what a normal F1 team would do and I think it's an approach that can be very quickly successful," added Grosjean, who has made no secret his desire to eventually drive for the Scuderia.
"I like the idea - the partnership with Ferrari - I like the way everything has been going; I like the fact it's going slowly but nicely and as I said in the media recently, I'm very, very happy that I made that decision."
Grosjean is hoping the closeness of the Haas-Ferrari partnership minimises the risk he is taking in joining a brand new team - certainly compared to F1's last newcomers back in 2010.
Whereas Haas's F1 plans are at least three years in the making, the lead times for Virgin (now Manor), Lotus F1 (subsequently Caterham) and HRT were much shorter.
Moreover, they were all under-resourced after signing up to F1 in anticipation of a budget cap that never materialised, and none of them had manufacturer backing.
"Our whole direction has gone a little bit different than, I suppose, what some of the other teams are. The other teams are looking at being a primary constructor and we're trying to use as much as we can from our partners," team owner Gene Haas explained.
"What tripped up the previous teams was they just didn't allow enough time to actually build their cars. So when they got on the grid, they were really, really behind.
"Not only are you trying to develop and design your car, but you're also trying to race. Trying doing those things simultaneously is probably impossible."
Don't miss the F1 Midweek Report on Wednesday night at 8.30pm when Ted Kravitz and David Brabham join Natalie Pinkham to discuss the Japanese GP
