Haas technical director leaves his role ahead of the 2024 F1 season

Simone Resta, the technical director of the Haas F1 team has left the organization ahead of the 2024 season.

The Italian engineer had been a part of Scuderia Ferrari for a long time before moving to Haas as a part of the technical relationship the two teams share. He had been performing his role since the 2021 F1 season. While that particular season saw the team finishing at the bottom with 0 points, 2022 was much better for them. With Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher forming the lineup, they scored 37 points and finished in eighth place.

The 2023 season, however, brought them back to the bottom scoring only 12 points. The upcoming season is expected to be a little better for the American outfit, but Simone Resta's leaving could get a little chaotic.

Resta has immaculate experience in F1. He first joined Ferrari back in 2001 when they were in complete domination. He continued working till 2018, leaving to join Alfa Romeo (then known as Sauber) but returned to the Scuderia in 2019. He was then appointed to Haas to tighten the technological relationship between the two teams.

It is unsure if Resta would return to the Maranello team for the future F1 seasons, but it is speculated that he could make a return to Sauber instead. The team will be taken over by Audi with the new engine regulations in 2026, for which they might be looking for an experienced engineer like him.

---

Kevin Magnussen hopeful of 2024 Haas challenger despite a lack of downforce

Downforce remains to be an extremely crucial part of a Formula 1 car. Teams design the floor and pods of the cars in a certain way so that they generate enough downforce to go through corners at very high speeds without slowing down.

While not all, most of the teams who lack a competitive pace usually lack this downforce. Talking about their 2024 F1 challenger, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen revealed that the car does not generate a lot of downforce but is faster.

"I think the upgraded car is more in line with the plan for next year, the concept looks like what we think of for next year," F1 quoted him. "It’s not actually got more downforce on paper, it’s not faster, but it is better to drive, it’s easier, the balance is more consistent. That’s why you don’t see a step back when we run the new spec, although it’s got less downforce."

While that seems to be the direction for Haas in the 2024 F1 season, with their technical director leaving the team, it will be hard to say if the team will be able to continue with an upward trajectory of development.