Meet Haas F1's 2018 Raft Team

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- The Great Montreal Raft Race returns this Saturday as the Formula One teams battle it out on the water for top bragging rights.

Last year, Haas F1 Team earned a solid fourth-place result in its rafting debut. This year, however, the crew is back and ready to fight for the podium. Team captain, Pete Crolla put the 2018 squad through a strict training regimen of "maple syrup, moose steaks and Diet Coke ...," while also recruiting a new team mascot - a driver mashup of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean called, Rovin Grognessen. 

The team was drafted by Crolla through, "panic, desperation and a group WhatsApp," so without further delay, meet our 2018 lineup. 

Peter Crolla has a plethora of experience in the Formula One paddock and joined Haas F1 Team three years ago. He is now in the team manager role at the American team and enjoys the fast-pace of the industry. He also appreciates working in the, “highest level of motorsport while visiting some fantastic locations and working with some exceptionally-talented people along the way.” Crolla enjoys mountain-biking, jet-skiing, road cycling and golf when he’s not traveling.

Crolla’s Raft Race Strategy:

“I feel my individual strategy is a winner: turn up, build raft, don't drown, look cool, go home with the prom queen!"

Ryan Cottee has been with Haas F1 Team as a Trackside IT Technician for a little over a year. Prior to working in Formula 1, he started his career as a communication systems engineer in the British Army in the Royal Corps of Signals. Cottee enjoys the fast pace and hard work during the setup and tear down and teamwork required to prepare the cars to leave the garage. Away from the racetrack, Cottee can be found racing downhill on a mountain bike.

Cottee’s Raft Race Strategy:

“My individual strategy is to row like a bat out of hell to get the win!”

Ryan Dyer has been with Haas F1 Team since its year of inception and currently serves as the team’s garage electrician. He has a background working for a nationwide utilities company in the United Kingdom prior to working in Formula One. Dyer enjoys working at Haas because it’s, “a smaller, tight-knit team,” and notes that, “even Guenther (Steiner) can have a joke.” Dyer’s other passion is football and you can find him regularly cheering on Tottenham Hotspur!

Dyer’s Raft Race Strategy:

“The plan is to dose myself up on energy drinks all week and come Saturday I’ll have one thousand percent too much sugar and caffeine and it will allow me to perform one thousand percent better, right? We do actually have a game plan but I can’t disclose too much information until we’ve won!”

Dom Haines has been with Haas F1 Team for a little over two years as a performance engineer. Haines’ favorite part of his career is to, “travel around the world with a good bunch of people working on race cars.” Haines will be able to pull from a few of his outside athletic endeavors as he rafts Saturday afternoon. He enjoys biking and hiking in his spare time, although he does quite enjoy eating posh crisps and is actively pursuing that to reach hobby level.

Haines’ Raft Race Strategy:

“My goal is to be ‘OARsome’ and try to stay in the boat.”

Zsolt Janvari, our traveling car electrician, is a more recent member of the Haas F1 Team squad as he started with the organization this April after leaving Williams F1. Janvari enjoys working in Formula One for the “challenge,” and is looking forward to joining the raft team in Montreal. When he’s not in the paddock, Janvari can be found honing his skills in a flight simulator.

Janvari’s Raft Race Strategy:

“Pure manpower – get on the raft, paddle hard and win it!”

Jean-Patrice Loof had always dreamed of working in Formula One. Loof worked hard to make his dream a reality after working as a rally engineer before ultimately joining Haas F1 at the beginning of the 2017 season as a reliability engineer. He notes, “Haas F1 gave me the opportunity to realize my dream in a team that suits my background and I’m very happy to be a part of it!” Loof may have an edge on the competition this weekend on the water as he regularly competes in middle-distance triathlons when he’s not at a Formula One circuit.

Loof’s Raft Race Strategy:

“Our goal is to build the fastest raft, be the better team and have as much fun as possible! That must be the winning strategy!”