New Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu believes the squad will begin the latest Formula 1 season on the backfoot due to a “late” development start on its 2024 car.
The American outfit slumped to the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship during the second year of the current regulation cycle last term with a total of only 12 points.
While its VF-23 charger proved competitive over a single lap, Haas’ prospects were continuously thwarted by encountering severe trouble with tyre degradation in races.
Haas introduced a revamped car concept in Austin, but the team’s troubles were exacerbated by Nico Hulkenberg’s decision to revert to the previous specification.
Although he is optimistic the VF-24 will represent a “clear step” on its predecessor, Komatsu admits the tribulations of last season have placed Haas on the back foot.
“The ’24 car is a clear step,” Komatsu assessed. “But whether it is good enough against the competition to start off with? I don’t believe so, because we started so late.
“We changed the concept so late as well and then by actually doing the Austin update, we diverted our resources a little bit.
“So, I’m realistic about the car we put out in Bahrain, but not in a negative manner.”
However, Komatsu, who has replaced Guenther Steiner, came to the defence of his colleagues and insisted that the team will work collectively to get on top of any issues.
“It’s not the fault of our engineers, our guys, they are good people,” he added.
“For me, the key would be that whatever the car we put out in Bahrain, whatever the problems are that we see, we try to understand it and then move from that point as a team, rather than having possible issues with a lack of cohesion between certain departments.
“We are a small team so we cannot have these internal issues if you like. We’ve got to move as one, otherwise we don’t stand a chance.”
Komatsu also revealed that Haas will host a double shakedown of the 2024 car, starting at Silverstone and then in Bahrain before the sole pre-season test begins on 21 February.
“On 11 February we have a Silverstone shakedown and then two days before the official test starts, we have another shakedown in Bahrain,” he detailed. “Then we go into the official testing.”
However, the Kannapolis-based camp has traditionally released rendered images of the latest car sporting the revised colour scheme in advance of the car making its track debut.
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