Gene Haas: We are racing Formula 1.5

Speaking ahead of his home United States Grand Prix, Haas told reporters, "I feel we are not really racing Formula 1, we are racing Formula 1.5. So if we were to finish fourth that would be a win in our series."

"When I watch some of the races, and see how fast the top three teams just blow by on the race track, you are just somewhat aghast and like: wow, how did we miss that?"

"I don't know how those cars are so much faster. But if I talked to [engineer] Ayao [Komatsu], he says you have got a couple of tenths on your tyres, you have got a couple of tenths on your aero and your chassis is off a couple of tenths. That is your second or two."

"I know that we put a huge effort into trying to address all those parameters, but I don't see how we are ever going to make up 1.5-2 seconds off these guys. They are just so much faster."

Talk of a budget cap is on the agenda for 2021, Haas reckoned, "Will budget cap help? Probably. If it reduces the size of their R&D department, I guess for every person we have, they have five people," he said.

"Personally I think that those five people would make it more confusing, but it does seem to work. And if there is anything that can reduce that gap, the technology they have and what we don't have, that would probably be very helpful.

"How you go about doing that without the bigger teams somehow having workarounds I don't know, but there is something wrong. I don't think we can ever make up that gap," lamented Haas.

On the other side of the coin, the Stewart-Haas Racing outfit the team runs in Nascar are bossing the series this year with their four drivers Kevin Harvick (1st), Kurt Busch (4th), Aric Almirola (5th) and Clint Bowyer (6th) featuring in the top six in the points standings.

https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/08/23/inside-line-formula-1-5-the-other-championship/