Gene Haas calls Formula One “a soap opera!”

Gene Haas thinks Formula One is full of ‘whiners’ after some rivals suggested the way Haas entered Formula One and their relationship with Ferrari is bad for the sport.

Haas sit fifth in the Constructors’ Championship after the first two rounds thanks to a sixth place finish in Australia and a fifth place finish in Bahrain, both courtesy of Romain Grosjean. Whilst most fans and teams are pleased to see Haas’s early success the team has received criticism from experienced Formula One personnel like Williams Chief Technical officer Pay Symonds after the team’s debut in Australia.

When asked by Autosport ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix what he thought about the situation he said “This place is a soap opera!

“I think a lot of the teams at the back really don’t understand what competition is. They’re getting maybe a little too fat happy.

“We never came into this thing to run at the back. We want to compete, and that’s what we’re going to do. If people don’t like that then that’s their problem.”

Gene Haas is unconcerned by the “whiners” though and he thinks all fellow Formula One teams should get used to seeing Haas around.

“I guess in a sense there are a lot of whiners in F1, who talk about our success,”

“But hey, we are just here racing with you.”

“I don’t know what they are complaining about. We are just racing on their turf. If they can’t figure that out they have a problem.

“There have been a lot of obstacles to get to this point and now we’re here, we’re here. We’re not going away, and they’d better get used to it, and if people don’t like it that’s their problem, not my problem.”

Haas added he really doesn’t understand what anyone has to complain about as they have done everything with the strict Formula One rules and regulations.

“The fact we’re doing something that is different, what’s wrong with that?

“If you’re a driver and you can figure out how to go around a turn faster than the guy next to you, who do you give the credit to? The guy who is slower, or the guy who is faster?

“We’ve proven we’re well within all the guidelines the FIA publishes, and quite frankly, I don’t know what people are complaining about.

“We’re here to race, if you want to beat us by complaining that’s just not what it’s about.”