Interview with NASCAR and F1 team owner Gene Haas at the 2015 FIA Sport Conference

Gene Haas is hoping that the arrival of his team in Formula 1 in 2016 can have a similar impact for the sport in the United States as the World Cup-winning women’s soccer team did in recent months.

Haas F1 Team will become the first new team to enter the sport in six years at the beginning of next season, and will enjoy a technical partnership with Ferrari.

Speaking in an interview at the FIA Sport Conference earlier this month, Haas went into further detail about his preparations for entering the sport and how the partnership with Ferrari will work.

When asked about how he believes his team’s entry will affect the sport’s popularity in the United States, Haas believes that it could have a very positive impact, likening it to the success of the USWNT at the World Cup earlier this month.

“I think an example is the women’s soccer team in the US," Haas said. “I didn’t even know who they were, they won this soccer event, and that was front page news, and cheers cheers cheers.

“So I’m hoping that we can have the same effect in the United States for Formula 1. All of a sudden, there’s an American F1 team, the home team, and people are going to cheer for us."

F1’s popularity in the United States has certainly risen in recent years following the return of a grand prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and would only be aided by having an American team on the grid from 2016. Luke Smith/NBC Sports