New team boss Ayao Komatsu acknowledges that Haas' 2024 Formula 1 car appears better due to the underperformance of rival teams.
After a disappointing 2023 season that led to the termination of long-standing team principal Gunther Steiner, Komatsu, formerly a high ranking team engineer, was promoted to lead the outfit. Upon taking charge, Komatsu's early duty was to temper expectations by suggesting that Haas was likely to finish at the bottom again this year. "I would never lie," he expressed to Auto Motor und Sport.
"We had to stop work on the 2024 car for two months last year because of the Austin upgrade. I knew how far back that would set us. We are also by far the smallest team in the field," Komatsu detailed. "If you think logically, the only possible outcome is tenth place."
"It's obvious what happened," he said. "The others simply messed up. To be honest, the car we started the season with wasn't anything special. So we had to assume that the others would do a better job with three times as many employees."
"Sauber then had problems with the pitstops, Williams with the chassis, Alpine with development and weight. We couldn't have expected that."
There were whispers that following Steiner's departure, team owner Gene Haas was considering a significant financial boost to the team.
"No extra money had to be spent," Komatsu asserted. "All the parts we've produced were within our planned budget."
"Gene has no problem investing in the team if we deliver at the end. We obviously had to earn his trust and prove to him that we could improve with the resources we had. But we had exactly the same budget last year."
"It's just a matter of how you use that money and how you get people to work towards a common goal."
Komatsu said they still have funds in the budget for additional developments this season. "A lot of the current car can be carried over to next year," he mentioned.
"That's why we don't want to stop development completely now. But we also have to keep an eye on 2026. We are the smallest team in the field and therefore cannot work as much in parallel as the others."
When asked about future independence from outsourcing elements like chassis and engine parts, currently sourced from Dallara and Ferrari, Komatsu provided a cautious outlook.
"Before you can run, you have to learn to walk," he advised. "Before we talk about the production of suspension and gearboxes, we have to tackle other issues first."
"Thanks to our cooperation with Ferrari, I don't have to worry about certain things for the time being. We shouldn't work on our strengths, but rather eliminate our weaknesses first."
