WATCH: Haas Finally Fires up Ferrari Powered 2021 F1 Challenger – VF-21

Haas F1 launched their 2021 car with a revamped livery on March 4, 2021. They’ve also revamped their driver lineup going into the season. They’ve signed two young guns, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, as they look to improve their performance this season.

Haas team principal, Steiner explains the delay in engine check

Haas F1 finally shared a video on Twitter of their fired-up VF-21. Usually, teams try to run their new engines as soon as possible to check their systems are in place. However, Haas F1 could not start their engine at their Banbury base because the Ferrari engineers required for the job could not travel to the UK due to the travel restrictions.

The team’s principal, Guenther Steiner, had explained last month that the engine fire-up would take place in Bahrain. However, the team was not concerned about cutting it close to the season opener because most of the car was carried over from the last season.

Haas F1 finally brought their engine to life with a week to go for the pre-season testing. The travel restrictions were one of the key reasons for the delay. Guenther Steiner explained the same in an interview.

“With all the flyaway races anyway the engines go back to Maranello, and then they come back to the race track, and go straight into the car. So it’s not anything new. But it’s not ideal, because even if it is a carry over car, there’s still some new parts. You want to do as much at home as you can.”

“If you cannot, then you need to find ways, but I think we will be all right. As long as it sounds good when we fire it up the first time, it’s not a problem!”

The car does sound great and seems ready for the season.

The American team suffered immensely last season because of Ferrari’s engine woes. They will hope that their power unit will not be a significant problem this season around. Do you think the team’s new driver lineup can help them become a competitive midfield team again?