Former McLaren owner Teddy Mayer was recruited to the project and aided the team in setting up their base,[6] purchasing a disused factory in Colnbrook, England, and establishing the company Formula One Race Car Engineering (FORCE).

[2] Team Haas's first car, the Oatley-designed THL1, was still under development at the start of the 1985 season and would only be ready to race at the twelfth round, the Italian Grand Prix.

When the team made their first race appearance at Monza, Jones qualified 25th out of 26 cars, before the Hart engine failed after only six laps.

The team returned at the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, where Jones qualified 22nd but retired after 13 laps due to radiator damage.

Ecclestone described how Beatrice were under pressure in the US from activists such as Jesse Jackson not to race, under threats including strike action by African Americans working in their businesses.

Tambay had formerly won 2 Grands Prix for Ferrari in 1982 and 1983, and had also driven for the factory Renault team in 1984 and 1985[2] Problems arose however before the season began, as Cosworth's efforts to build the new Ford engines had been delayed, forcing the team to start the season with the previous year's car and the Hart engine.

[citation needed] Tambay received his first THL2 at Monaco and quickly qualified eighth with it, only to crash out of the race in the final eleven laps.

Although still out qualified by Tambay, Jones was in position to finish his first race with the team in Belgium before his car ran out of fuel in the closing laps.

Jones managed to see the finish of the Canadian Grand Prix, but his team mate was injured in a heavy crash during the warm-up.

[6] American driver Eddie Cheever, who had previously driven for Ligier, Renault and Alfa Romeo, was driving for Tom Walkinshaw Racing Jaguar in the World Sportscar Championship, was signed by Haas as Tambay's temporary replacement for the Detroit Grand Prix after Carl Haas had difficulty in obtaining a superlicence for Michael Andretti (Andretti's father, 1978 World Champion Mario Andretti, at that time drove for Carl Haas in American Champ Car racing.

Over the next two Grands Prix Tambay was in a position to finish before mechanical problems forced him to retire within the final fifteen laps of both races.

Tambay improved this performance with a seventh-place finish at the first Hungarian Grand Prix after having qualified the car in a season best of sixth on the grid.

The improvements finally paid off at Austria as mechanical problems for many top teams allowed the two Haas entries to earn points towards the World Championship, even though both cars were two laps behind the winner.

At the team's first anniversary of their entry into Formula One, Jones earned a further point for a sixth-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Problems began within the team however as a change in management in the autumn of 1985 at Beatrice led to them to decrease their sponsorship of Haas during the 1986 season.

During the Australian Grand Prix, Tambay's car was one of two in the race carrying an onboard camera, the other being the Lotus-Renault of Johnny Dumfries.