Guenther Steiner unconcerned over 'White Ferrari' claims levelled at Haas

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says he is not worried about some of the ‘copying’ claims the team has faced amid their new upgrades.

Haas have brought a lot of new parts to their VF-22 this weekend, though they will only run on Kevin Magnussen’s car here at the Hungaroring.

Their sidepod design has been tweaked whilst their floor design has also changed, with both now looking more similar to those on the Ferrari, prompting some to question whether the team has copied the Scuderia.

Of course, Haas already use some Ferrari elements like the power unit and have several former Ferrari engineers in their ranks, so there’s an evident working relationship there already, but Steiner is confident that no copying rules have been flouted with the design changes they have made to their car.

Speaking to the press here in Hungary, he said:

“If somebody says we copied, I will give him the same answer: ‘what should we have copied, the Williams?’

“No disrespect to Williams, but it’s a completely different concept and they are behind us.

“If you copy something you copy the best we can and at the moment it’s Ferrari and Red Bull.

“We have got the same engine as Ferrari, the same gearbox, the same suspension – why would we copy anything else? And they are winning races.

“One and one is still two and we are not this stupid.”

A typically forthright answer from Steiner but it’s hard to really disagree with him.

Ultimately, the fastest cars on the grid are the Ferrari and Red Bull, and in this new era of F1 it was always likely that those that led from the front would see those behind trying to adopt certain aspects of their designs.

Ferrari’s car is quick, and Haas have a good understanding with them already, so it would make sense to