New Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu says there should be no doubting Gene Haas’ commitment to Formula 1 amid the squad’s recent internal changes.
Komatsu has been promoted to Team Principal for 2024 after Haas opted not to renew the contract of Guenther Steiner, who spearheaded Haas’ entry and first eight years in Formula 1.
Haas has also parted company from Technical Director Simone Resta in the wake of a season in which it dropped to last in the Constructors’ Championship.
Haas is in the process of recruiting a European-based Chief Operating Officer in order to alleviate the off-track burden on new boss Komatsu.
Amid the investments rivals are making – notably AlphaTauri, Williams and Sauber – , alongside the attempted entry of Andretti, Haas’ commitment to Formula 1 has been queried, an aspect Komatsu has dismissed.
“Obviously you saw and heard how unhappy Gene was,” Komatsu said. “Of course, who’s going to be happy competing in last place? It is embarrassing, it really is embarrassing.
“I think it’s positive that Gene is unhappy where we are. If the people in the team think OK, we’re last, and we’re not sure where we’re going, Gene doesn’t say anything, then OK, is Gene happy just making up numbers and being P10? That’s clearly not the case. So that’s actually motivating for everyone here: OK, Gene is serious, he wants to improve the team, so let’s do it together.
“He’s definitely committed. Otherwise, he doesn’t have to do this move, change direction. It’s a huge thing for him as well.
“You know, Guenther was instrumental in getting the team off the ground. So for him to do what he did, the decision he’s taken, if he wasn’t committed, why would you do it?”
Komatsu, who joined Haas upon its entry in 2016, is still in the process of assessing various departments and has travelled to Italy today (Wednesday) to meet its department based at Maranello.
Komatsu emphasised his belief that Haas can extract better results from its current structure.
“We’ve really got good people, talented people, some of the best I’ve seen in the last 20 years in Formula 1, so we have got really good people,” Komatsu said.
“It’s really a matter of gelling it, integrating it, communicate, and then work for each other. So that’s why I strongly believe that we can achieve that. And then I think we can improve a lot.”
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