Haas has become the first team to reveal its 2020 Formula One car after posting renderings of its new car online.
The American team has opted for a red, grey and black colour scheme for the new car, dubbed the VF-20, reverting to the colours of owner Gene Haas' machine tool company Haas Automation.
Haas spent the first three years in F1 with some variation of the Haas Automation colours, before switching to a black and gold livery ahead of 2019 to mark the start of what was supposed to be a multiyear partnership with drinks brand Rich Energy. However, that deal ended in bizarre circumstances midway through the season and Haas completed the year with its black and gold car minus the Rich Energy branding.
This year will be Haas' fifth season on the grid. After recording its best finish in 2018 -- fifth in the championship -- it dropped to ninth last year in what turned out to be a difficult season on and off the track.
"I'm pleased to see the car return to the more familiar Haas Automation colors, it's certainly a livery that people identify with," team owner Haas said. "Frankly, I'm hoping the VF-20 will return us to the kind of form we ran in 2018 when we finished fifth in the constructors' championship; 2019 was a tough season to endure.
"We've been through a real education process, one that comes to all Formula One teams at some stage. I'm trusting we've learned from those lessons and have applied that knowledge into making the VF-20 a more competitive entry. It's important to me that we're back in the mix and consistently scoring points. We certainly have the capability and we've proved as an organization we can do it."
Haas started 2019 struggling to get the best from Pirelli's tyres, but tracked the source of its struggle to the car's aerodynamics. In a bid to understand where it had gone wrong, the team reverted Romain Grosjean's car to the same specification it started the season with in Australia while Kevin Magnussen continued to use the latest specification. Both Grosjean and Magnussen remain at the team in 2020.
"It's always exciting to see the development of a new Formula One car and undoubtedly the VF-20 has to deliver where our previous car didn't," team principal Guenther Steiner said. "With the regulations remaining stable into this season, it's allowed us to improve our understanding of the car and to scrutinize ourselves more in order to find solutions and applications to channel into the design of the VF-20. Last year was definitely a setback, one I would never have asked for, but you learn from such situations -- we all have.
"Everybody at the team was forced to look at themselves and understand what they can do better. I'm looking forward to seeing the VF-20 make its track debut. As always in testing, you want many things, but lots of mileage, reliability and speed would be welcomed as we ready ourselves for the first race in Australia."
The online reveal of the Haas is the first glimpse of any car that will race in the new season. The traditional "launch week" kicks off on Feb. 11, when Ferrari takes the covers off its car in Reggio Emilia, Italy.