Formula 1 motorsport director Ross Brawn claims the ‘B-team’ model being used by Haas, Alfa Romeo and Toro Rosso must stay in Formula 1.
Independent constructors like Renault, Williams and McLaren have been very unhappy about the model, which effectively allows those teams to buy in parts from top teams rather than produce their own.
F1 bosses and the FIA have responded to those calls too, with the number of listed parts which cannot be outsourced set to be overhauled in 2021.
However, Brawn insists outlawing the model completely would not good, and likely result in more scenarios akin to HRT, Manor and Caterham at the start of the decade.
“The Haas model is interesting and it has been very successful,” he told Sky Sports.
“It’s something we have to maintain for the future, for a small team to come in and be pretty respectable.
“There’s some trimming we need to do about what they’ve been able to do but all credit to them, they took a model that was there which nobody had exploited as much as they did, and it’s a great story.”
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Brawn’s vote of confidence was warmly received by Haas chief Guenther Steiner.
“I wouldn’t say they are looking after us,” he was quoted by PlanetF1. “I would rephrase that: they are looking after Formula 1.
“We are all egotistic obviously and somebody is a referee to look after the business that we have enough teams here that can fight at an equal level.”
Indeed, Steiner continues to believe the criticism from elsewhere only occurs because teams like Haas are competitive.
“It’s normally the people that cannot understand why we’re doing such a good job just say we’re copying Ferrari,” he continued.
“Nobody would care if we were at the bottom, everybody would be happy. That’s what everyone was expecting when we got into Formula 1.
“It’s developed over the years with people getting more critical. It goes hand-in-hand with our classifications.
“After a while, you get used to it. You live with it and don’t care.”
