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Gene Haas has conceded his team would have preferred to have had a second Formula 1 season with the current regulations rather than face a dramatic overhaul for 2017.

Haas has a technical partnership with Ferrari and the team owner admitted that without it the rule change would have been incredibly daunting.

"I certainly would have liked to have another year with the current package but unfortunately they do not subscribe to our timeline," he said.

"Another one or two years with what we have would have been a lot easier.

"But the Ferrari technical aspect of it will make that attainable for us to do that.

"Without it, we would have been lost."

The second year for a new team is traditionally tougher than the first, as it has to contend with developing a current car and the one for the following year simultaneously.

That becomes even harder when the regulations change, with 2017 set for big alterations to the aerodynamic rules.

"It is a tremendous amount of responsibility to not only run the team but also to start anticipating what is going to happen in 2017," Haas said.

"For 2017, I call that a revolution in terms of the car because everything changes.

"You cannot simply look at someone else's car and say 'I am going to build a car like that', you have got to understand how these cars work.

"Even a minor variation, moving an aero part around a half-inch, completely changes what happens at the back of the car."