It’s not every day that sports team owners sample what the organization is doing. Robert Kraft is not in line for pre-season New England Patriot games any time soon.
But motorsport can provide such opportunities in a way. It was held by Jean Haas with both hands on Friday. He and his Formula 1 team first appeared at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed Motoring and Motorsports festival, and to mark this opportunity, Haas got behind the wheel of the VF-23 to run up the iconic hill crimp.
The driving was the brainchild of team principal Ayao Komatsu, who drove in front of Haas along with Nakajima Kazuguchi to the driver of the Toyota factory on Thursday.
Gene Haas slowly turns out to be the most difficult part. Bob McCaffrey/Getty Images
“When Ayao first asked me about driving in Goodwood, it seemed like so many jobs just for an excursion on the hill,” Haas said. “I honestly didn’t know about the festival of speed beforehand, but it was intriguing to me. And now I understand why so many fans are coming here.
“It’s an event to see so many different cars, not just Formula 1 cars, but old and new cars, so it’s a matter of events. That’s why it gives fans the opportunity to see cars they’ve only seen on TV and in movies. It’s amazing how cars in the 40s and 50s are making cars that are now 150 mph with the basic tools they’ve been compared.”
Racing up the hills gave Haas a new perspective on what he has supported for the past decade. But driving an F1 car is a feat in itself, but Haas has had another challenge. Grand Prix cars are designed to do one thing. At Goodwood, that’s one thing he didn’t do.
“My first impression of being in a Formula 1 car was that it was very tough there,” he said. “There are a lot of nuances that we have to learn about clutches, shifts, and millions of things happen.
“But trying to drive a very fast car at a very slow speed is the most difficult thing.”
Haas F1’s 10th anniversary celebrations continue for the rest of the weekend, with race drivers Esteban Ocon and Oliver Baerman both scheduled to appear on Saturday and Sunday.
- click here Stream the Goodwood Festival of Speed Festival live, or Racer + App.