Gene Haas Ready To Get F1 Experiment Under Way, But Knows It Takes Time

Gene Haas expects annual sales at Haas Automotive to double over the next five years to $2B as a direct result of his involvement in F1. "Most of that growth is going to occur outside of the United States," Haas said during a one-on-one interview yesterday at the '14 NASCAR Motorsports Marketing Forum. As co-owner of NASCAR's Stewart-Haas Racing and Chair of the Haas F1 Team, Haas said that his involvement with NASCAR helped sales by allowing him to promote his products at the track. "NASCAR is a very great resource in terms of reaching our target market," he said. "I want to do the same thing in European markets because that's really where the next big growth area is for Haas Automation." While Haas said he is itching to start competing in F1, he acknowledged that he needs this year to get things ready to be competitive, including building a car from the ground up. "That is so overwhelming. If you get it wrong, it's a disaster," he said. "You can see by most of the startup teams that their biggest problem is not finishing races. In retrospect, from what I've seen with the startup teams from the 2008-2009 time period, taking that extra year is going to give us the opportunity to build a very, very competitive car, have the teams in place, have the equipment in place, so that when we come off the haulers in February 2016, we will be a competitive team."

LOOKING OUT FOR PITFALLS: During a wide-ranging interview, NBC Sports broadcaster Leigh Diffey asked Haas, "There are a lot of naysayers out there. There are a lot of people wanting to see you fail. What do you say to them? What do you think about that?" Haas said, "There are a lot of pitfalls in Formula 1. We've seen a lot of teams have a lot of problems. There are money issues. There's a lot of rancor in the troops out there as far as what we're hearing with Formula 1. I look at it as a challenge. I've been to some Formula 1 races. I've met the people. I like them. They're good people."

A PRESSURE TO WIN: Diffey asked Haas if he had any concerns "that the people you did your deal with at Ferrari are now gone?" Haas said, "That's a good point. I don't know. I think that the higher ups know what they're doing. I hope we didn't have any influence over them losing their jobs." Diffey: "At lunch, we were discussing this. And Gene said, "It seems whoever I spoke to got fired. I better stop speaking to people." Haas: "There's a lot of pressure on Ferrari. Ferrari is obviously a marquee car builder, and Formula 1 is their marquee racing series. And they want to win. There's just a lot of pressure there. I have to respect that."

WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S: Haas was asked who was "more interesting to deal with" -- NASCAR/ISC's France family or F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone. He said, "I don't deal much with the France family, so I'd have to say Bernie. He's an interesting character. They call him 'El Supremo.' That just says it all. When someone calls you 'El Supremo,' I guess you have to have a lot of respect for that."