The Haas Formula 1 squad stole the headlines midway through last week when it announced that Guenther Steiner would not be retained in the position of Team Principal.
Steiner had served at the helm of the American outfit since it entered F1 in 2016, becoming a cherished character after his star appearances in Netflix’s Drive to Survive series.
However, results at Haas had nosedived under the second year of the current ground effect aero regulations, with the side slumping to the bottom of the Constructors’ standings.
Team owner Gene Haas explained the “need to improve our on-track performances” was the overriding reason behind the decision to not extend Steiner’s contract beyond 2023.
Rather than seeking a replacement elsewhere, the American, 71, has placed faith in an internal solution by the name of Ayao Komatsu. But who is the new Haas Team Principal?
Komatsu was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1976, but aged only 19 elected to move to the United Kingdom to continue his studies abroad at the esteemed Loughborough University.
He would earn a Bachelor’s degree in Automotive Engineering in 1999 before then proceeding to later obtain a PhD in Vehicle Dynamics and Control at the same institution.
Having remained in the UK, Komatsu forayed into motorsport in 2003 as a tyre engineer with the British American Racing (BAR) F1 team, where he remained for over two years.
From there, Komatsu took up the position of F1 performance engineer with Renault’s test team in 2006 before being promoted to the race operation to work with the drivers.
Komatsu then progressed into a race engineer role and worked with Vitaly Petrov in 2011, with the Russian achieving his maiden F1 podium at the opening round in Australia.
But Petrov would be unable to maintain that form through the campaign and was dropped for the returning Romain Grosjean, whom Komatsu had come across on test duties.
Despite enduring a troubled time that led to a one-ran ban for his involvement in the start crash at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix, Grosjean and Komatsu shared a strong bond as the Frenchman logged nine podiums in two seasons amid a competitive period for the Enstone camp.
However, a disappointing 2014 upon F1’s transition to V6 turbo-hybrid engines saw Komatsu ushered up the ranks to the role of Chief Race Engineer until his departure.
Komatsu chose to leave the cash-strapped Lotus unit to accompany Grosjean to the newly founded Haas team in 2016 in the position of Trackside Engineering Director.
The now 47-year-old has remained at the Kannapolis-based squad ever since, regularly being spotted alongside Steiner and effectively becoming the Italian’s right-hand man.
But Komatsu will now be tasked with replacing his ex-colleague and reversing the plight that witnessed Haas only accumulate 12 points from 22 grands prix last season.
Intriguingly, Komatsu’s appointment continues a growing trend towards technical minds being placed at the top of F1 teams. McLaren and Williams reaped the rewards of granting opportunities to Andrea Stella and James Vowles respectively last winter, with both teams enjoying their greatest campaign in many years.
Amid rumours that Steiner wanted more investment to transcend the side’s fortunes, Gene Haas has outlined how the side must operate in a more efficient manner.
“In appointing Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal, we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management,” Haas said in the team’s official statement.
“We need to be efficient with the resources we have but improving our design and engineering capability is key to our success as a team.
“I’m looking forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximize our potential – this truly reflects my desire to compete properly in Formula 1.”
Meanwhile, Komatsu added: “I’m naturally very excited to have the opportunity to be Team Principal at Haas.
“Having been with the team since its track debut back in 2016, I’m obviously passionately invested in its success in Formula 1.
“I’m looking forward to leading our program and the various competitive operations internally to ensure we can build a structure that produces improved on-track performances.
“We are a performance-based business. We obviously haven’t been competitive enough recently which has been a source of frustration for us all. We have amazing support from Gene and our various partners, and we want to mirror their enthusiasm with an improved on-track product.
“We have a great team of people across Kannapolis, Banbury, and Maranello, and together I know we can achieve the kind of results we’re capable of.”
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