Haas fire back at 'Ferrari clone' claims

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has hit back at claims that the American constructor have copied the 2017 Ferrari car with their 2018 model. Haas appear to have made great strides coming into this season, but their midfield rivals have expressed concern at how it has been achieved.

Ferrari supply engines and gearboxes to Haas, but Formula 1 rules state that teams must design their own chassis and aerodynamic parts.

Fernando Alonso said the Haas was a "clone" of last year's Ferrari car after qualifying for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix - which saw the Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean retire due to faulty wheel nuts.

But Steiner says that, while Haas use similar dimensions in order to fit their Ferrari parts, they have received no information or teaching from Maranello.

"They see ghosts," Steiner told the BBC.

"[They say]: 'The car looks very similar to a Ferrari from last year.' So should we have copied their car, which is behind us, or should we go with a car that goes pretty quick? Give me an answer to that.

"We have got the same [wheelbase] as Ferrari. We have to because we have the same suspension - why would we do it different?

"It's logic. So it cannot be last year's Ferrari because it has the same wheelbase as this year's Ferrari.

"My point is, if they have got a problem with that, I show them the way to the FIA. They can file a protest."

Force India and McLaren have been the teams most vociferously expressing concerns about Haas.

"I don't know how they do it, it's magic," Force India COO Otmar Szafnauer said. "It's never been done before in Formula 1.

"I just don't know how it can be right that someone who's been in the sport for a couple of years with no resource could produce a car... does it happen by magic?

"If it does, I want the wand."

FIA race director Charlie Whiting said Haas had the governing body's backing, saying: "We know exactly what's going on between Haas and Ferrari, which is completely legal. Last year we had one team expressing some concerns but we have not seen anything that concerns us at the moment."

But Szafnauer suggested that the FIA's scrutineering of Haas' bodywork might not be effective in determining if it has been influenced by Ferrari.

"All the aerodynamic surfaces have to be your own," he said. "If they're not, I don't know how you can tell unless you start investigating.

"Scrutineering only tells you that it fits within the boxes of the regulations.

"Is it yours or somebody else's [idea]? That's the real question. And I don't know the answer to that.

"Maybe it is their own, it's just suspect - how can you gain that knowledge without history and the right tools and people?"