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Komatsu on the changes made at Haas: "You know how depressed they were?"
The 2023 Formula 1 season was a bleak one for Haas F1 team. They were rooted right to the bottom of the constructors' standings with just 12 points, with limited finances and development restricting the American team hugely. However, just 12 months later, they were able to tally up 56 points, finishing seventh in the constructors' in a much more positive season. But what changed at the team to give them that boost, as they look to improve once more for 2025? Team principal Ayao Komatsu explains.
Since 2016, the Japanese engineer has been a part of Haas, joining the American team for their first year on the F1 grid. However, with limited money and resources, the team could not grow. After Guenther Steiner left following a challenging 2023, Komatsu became the team boss for the 2024 season.
In 2024, Haas were one of the shocks of the year, with many expecting them to be finishing near the back of the grid throughout the year. However, through the leadership of Komatsu, they were able to secure a good haul of points, lifting them up to seventh in the constructors' championship and give themselves a great platform to improve in 2025 with Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman behind the wheel.
Komatsu on the "contrast" between 2023 and 2024 at Haas
It was a huge change in fortune in the space of 12 months for Haas and Komatsu. But what does the Japanese team boss put that down to? "Communication. Just putting everybody on the same page, and then discussing openly how we can improve. And then again, listening to them rather than me telling them. Even if I have an opinion, they are the experts. I ask questions, I listen to them, but in the end, they drive that. So that's why I was so happy when we could make progress with the car. They did it.
"Those people who've been told ‘Haas can’t upgrade the car.’ Do you know how depressed they were in the '23 Austin race? None of them wanted to do the Austin upgrades, right? None of them. But they had to do it, So that was a low point," continued Komatsu.
But those low points of 2023 were replaced with a lot more joy at the 2024 United States Grand Prix, which was explained by the 49-year-old: "'24 Austin is our biggest upgrade last year. It's just completely, 180 degrees, different. That '23 upgrade, nobody thought we should do it. It was a complete waste of time and money.
"However, '24 Austin, everybody discussed openly for months how we should do it, worked on it and was confident we could deliver. And then on the track, the result was that [Nico Hulkenberg's P8, ed.]. We delivered. So it's just such a contrast. And then, when I went to Italy for the Christmas dinner, the mood was amazing, night and day," Komatsu concluded.
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