The VF-20 is powered by the 2020 Ferrari power unit, paired with a 2019 Ferrari 8-speed gearbox. Its design features several similarities to the Ferrari SF90 used by Ferrari in the 2019 Formula One World Championship. The car continues the Haas tradition of having engineers at Dallara headquarters to develop the chassis. The team's operational headquarters are in Banbury, Oxford, from where race and test teams operate. The VF-20 was officially unveiled by its drivers on February 19 in the pitlane of Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, half an hour before the start of pre-season testing. The team returned to its black, white, and red colors, the core colors of Haas Automation, after a single year in black and gold following the terminated Rich Energy sponsorship deal.
The VF-20 features a carbon-fibre monocoque chassis. Its front suspension consists of upper and lower wishbones with inboard springs and dampers actuated by push-rods, while the rear suspension uses upper and lower wishbones with inboard springs and dampers actuated by pull-rods. The car uses ZF Sachs Race Engineering dampers, six-piston brake calipers with carbon fiber pads and discs, and a Ferrari 8-speed quick-shift sequential carbon-cased gearbox. It is equipped with Pirelli tires and OZ magnesium alloy wheels. The Ferrari 065 powertrain is a turbocharged, 90° 1.6L V6 engine, assisted with kinetic and heat ERS, producing more than 950hp. The car has a height of 950 mm (minus T camera), a front track width of 1,600 mm, and a rear track width of 1,550 mm, with a weight of 746kg (FIA minimum, including driver and lubricants, tank empty).
The VF-20 was planned to make its competitive debut at the 2020 Australian Grand Prix, but this was delayed due to the race's cancellation and the postponement of subsequent events in Bahrain, Vietnam, and China in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The car ultimately made its debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix.
The beginning of the 2020 season was difficult for Haas, with both drivers retiring from the opening round due to brake failure. Similar to the previous year's entry, the Haas VF-19, the car struggled with consistency issues. These problems were particularly apparent at the Spanish Grand Prix, where the car was two seconds slower during the race than it had been during the first practice session two days earlier. A lack of grip from the chassis, combined with insufficient power from the customer Ferrari power units, relegated Haas to the back of the grid alongside fellow Ferrari customer team Alfa Romeo and Williams.
During pre-season testing, Haas F1 Team completed 676 laps across six days, totaling 3146.78 kilometers. This was the least mileage of all teams, partly due to a few crashes. Kevin Magnussen recorded the slowest fastest lap of all teams, 6 tenths of a second slower than anyone else.
The remains of the VF-20 driven by Romain Grosjean in his dramatic crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix are on permanent exhibition in a museum dedicated to Formula One in Madrid. Unseen parts of this specific car are also displayed in the Survival room of The Formula 1 Exhibition in Toronto. Another original MoneyGram Haas F1 Team VF-20 race car, with its engine cover removed to reveal the Ferrari Power Unit, is exclusively displayed at The Formula 1 Exhibition in Toronto.
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