Where's America's place in Formula One? Still in the back of the pack, but gaining ground
Americans flex their muscle across the globe in just about every endeavor under the sun.
In Formula One, the world's most popular motor sport, they get lapped by the field.
Haas F1 Team, based deep in the heart of NASCAR country in Kannapolis, N.C., is the struggling Americans. Don't expect to see the home team finish anywhere near the podium this weekend in the Lenovo U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. In eight seasons in the sport, Haas has never scored a top-three finish — anywhere.
This year there also is an American driver in F1 for the first time in eight years. Logan Sargeant, a 22-year-old Floridian with Williams Racing, is last in the standings with zero points. Already there is talk that the rookie is on the hot seat with the United Kingdom-based team.
So where is the good ol' USA?
"It's a tough sport to crack," IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi, the last American in F1 (2015), told reporters recently. "There are only 20 spots on the grid; it is European in nature. Change comes slowly in F1, but I think it will improve with the way we're seeing more U.S. involvement."
An American company, Liberty Media, owns the sport, and the United States now has three F1 race weekends with the addition of next month's Las Vegas street race. Mario Andretti, the last American F1 race winner (1978 Dutch GP), is teaming with Cadillac to create an F1 team that could launch in 2025 or ’26.
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U.S. giant automakers General Motors (Chevrolet) and Ford and Japan's Toyota remain entrenched in NASCAR, still the No. 1 motor sport in America.
But there are reasons for hope beyond Liberty's involvement and Andretti's bid. Dallas-based MoneyGram signed on with Haas last year and is infusing $20 million a year into its budget. Haas, which has struggled financially trying to keep up with the Red Bulls, Mercedes and Ferraris of the sport, will unveil a new car package at COTA this weekend.
"MoneyGram is a big help," said Kevin Magnusson, whose ninth-place finish last year is Haas' only top 10 at the USGP. "We are bringing a fairly substantial upgrade, finally. We haven't had many upgrades because the team hasn't found improvements to justify it.
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"It's a new concept, and hopefully one we'll be using for next year's car. At this point, so much of this is about next year," he said without disclosing details of the upgrade.
Something needed to change. Haas team finishes since its 2016 debut are eighth, eighth, fifth, ninth, ninth, 10th and eighth, and it is ninth this year. Magnussen's ninth-place season finish with 56 points in 2018 is by far the best. Last year Haas scored 37 points; this year it has only 12.
Haas, which uses Ferrari engines and Dallara chassis, has been crippled from the outset by financial and technical issues, plus an ever-changing driver lineup. Magnussen and teammate Nico Hulkenberg bring more stability and are signed for 2024.
The hope is that F1's moves toward a team salary cap — $135 million this year, not including the cost of engines and driver salaries (among other things) — will eventually help. Think of a midmajor in college football competing against Power Five elites.
"Progress is incremental," Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said. "We are trying things and excited to see how they play out on the track. Only a tiny margin separates many teams in the middle and back of the pack. So there definitely is room for growth."
Sargeant, the rookie Williams driver operating on a one-year contract, indicated he's not burdened by pressure.
"Not to deliver anything special, but just to be consistent and clean," Sargeant said Thursday. "That's been the message to me. That's all my goal is, to have consistent clean weekends and try to be on the limit of what the car gives me."
Team principal James Vowles told reporters the results need to improve and close the gap on teammate Alex Albon, who is 13th with 23 points.
"It's a meritocracy," Vowles said. "Logan has to keep developing and needs improvements in consistency. Admittedly, we put Logan in a situation where he came straight out of (developmental) F2, had a day and a half of testing ... and it's, 'Good luck. You're an F1 driver!’ ”
Sargeant hopes for a boost at COTA, a track he knows and enjoys.
"This will feel more like home," he said. "No doubt it's been frustrating at times. At the same time, since the summer I feel like I've found the speed again. It's just trying to put it all together when it matters."
U.S. Grand Prix
Friday-Sunday, Circuit of the Americas, ABC for Sunday's USGP, ESPN family of networks for Saturday's sprint races; limited supply of weekend and single-day options available at circuitoftheamericas.com.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: American racing is still searching for a football in Formula One
