Haas F1 owner, Gene Haas would “reconsider” his team’s entry in Formula 1 after five years should they not make progress up from the lower part of the midfield.
The American outfit has had a solid second year on the grid with greater consistency but still suffering from problems typical of an operation without the experience of those around them.
Development has been weak, with the team admitting they switched focus to 2018 too early and their difficulties with braking and optimising tyre performance means they do struggle at certain circuits.
However, at the same time, there is little they can do about the progress made by much larger teams such as Renault and McLaren who have moved ahead as the year has gone on.
Currently, Haas sit eighth in the Constructors’ Championship and given the ambitions Gene has, he is keen to see the fruits of his labour start to come in terms of better results.
“I think if after five years we are still way at the back and not where we want to be, then we would have to rethink whether we still want to be in F1,” he told AutoWeek.
“In the five years, there will be opportunities that will manifest themselves that we can take advantage of. Hopefully, one of those will be the one that catapults you to at least be mid-team competitive or a little bit better, and from there it is kind of like going up a ladder, one step at a time..”
Certainly, for teams like Haas, the plans of F1 owners Liberty Media to try and level the playing field are crucial to whether they can go on to achieve greater success and those won’t come into full effect until the next commercial rights agreement due in 2021.
That is why Haas is prepared to be patient but he admits: “I would think that in 10 years, we should have the ability to win a race, and if we can’t, I guess we failed.”
