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Haas confirms F1 entry interest
NASCAR team co-owner Gene Haas has confirmed he is hoping to put together a Formula One team for 2015 or 2016 after formally submitting his interest to the FIA.
The FIA announced in December that it wanted potential new teams to express an interest in joining the grid by January 3. The FIA also said it "anticipates that full applications will need to be submitted by 10 February 2014, leading to a decision on 28 February 2014," before adding "In the event that no applicant is considered suitable by both the FIA and the commercial rights holder, no additional team will be selected."
It is understood that there are three teams which have expressed an interest, with reports suggesting Stefan GP and a group including Colin Kolles are two of those to have done so. The most high-profile applicant, however, is the Gene Haas fronted Haas Racing Development.
Haas currently co-owns Stewart-Haas Racing in NASCAR, while Haas Automation is also a large CNC machine tool builder. Stewart-Haas Racing won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in 2011 and Haas has now confirmed his interest in joining the Formula One grid via a statement released on Thursday.
"We have responded to the FIA's 'call for expression of interest' regarding a Formula One entry on behalf of Haas Racing Development," the statement read. "We respect the FIA's evaluation process and will share more details in the coming weeks."
Haas also owns the Windshear wind tunnel facility in Concord, North Carolina, which has been used by Formula One teams in the past.
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