Haas VF-21 fire-up likely delayed by COVID restrictions

Haas likely won’t be able to fire up its 2021 car until the start of pre-season testing in Bahrain in March due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The build-up of the US outfit’s VF-21 that will be raced this season by Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin is going according to plan, with the car set to be completed by mid-February.

However, the presence of Ferrari’s technicians is required to fire-up the charger’s V6 turbo power unit. But the enforcement in the UK of COVID-19 border restrictions will not allow the engine supplier’s personnel to travel to Haas’ Banbury factory.

The team’s VF-21 will therefore likely roar into life in Bahrain ahead of the start of pre-season testing on March 12, according to a report from Auto Motor und Sport.

Haas has typically sent the components produced at its base in the UK to Italy where Dallara – which produces the team’s chassis – assembles the Ferrari-powered car.

But this year’s F1 regulations that required teams to carry over their 2020 chassis means that Haas’ VF-21 is built at Banbury.

“This year this is logistically easier than sending our parts to Italy for assembly,” confirmed Haas team principal Guenther Steiner.

But while theoretically easier logistically, current COVID-19 restrictions have hindered staff’s travels, with Steiner himself currently blocked in the US.

“If I wanted to fly to England, I would first have to be quarantined for two weeks. Only athletes are exempt from that rule,” he said.

Read also: Steiner says 2021 will be ‘another difficult one’ for Haas

Haas is expecting to undergo a transition year in 2021, as very little resources shall be devoted to this year’s car, with the bulk of its engineering investment already earmarked for its completely new 2022 contender.

“Things like the front wing, the airflow deflectors behind the bargeboards and the brake coolers are new, because we had to adapt them to the new floor,” Steiner said.

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