The Haas Formula 1 team has confirmed that Andrea De Zordo has been promoted to take up the position of Technical Director after Simone Resta’s recent departure.
Resta, who has been associated with Ferrari since 2001, moved across to lead Haas’ technical operation as part of a strengthened alliance with the Italian marque in 2021.
Despite an encouraging start to F1’s latest ground effect regulations in 2022, Haas slipped to the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship last term with 12 points.
Haas converged on the downwash solution with a revamped VF-23 car late in the season, but the side continued to be thwarted by excessive tyre degradation.
Prior to Haas announcing Guenther Steiner had not been retained as Team Principal beyond 2023, it was reported that Resta’s loan arrangement had been cut short.
New Haas boss Ayao Komatsu has revealed the American outfit has elected to promote from within to fill the position vacated by Resta heading into the 2024 season.
“Our new Technical Director is Andrea De Zordo,” Komatsu said upon the launch of Haas’ 2024 livery. “He was the Chief Designer previously and is a very technical person.
“His communication is good, he’s very engaged and he listens to people, so I’m very happy about that appointment.”
Komatsu also disclosed that Haas has created a new Performance Director role that will supervise the development direction that the team opts to take through the campaign.
“Another key position is the Performance Director, this is a position that wasn’t there before, but we’ve created it putting Damien Brayshaw, previously the Head of Vehicle Performance Group, into the role,” he noted.
“He will oversee and drive the direction for the upgrades together with the aero department and all the other functions that analyze the full-scale car, which is trackside engineering, the Vehicle Performance Group, Tire Group etc.
Meanwhile, Haas is also searching for a new Chief Designer, but Komatsu divulged that it is considering candidates that are currently already housed within the organisation.
“We are now recruiting for our Chief Designer, but I believe we have good internal candidates, so we’ll look to promote internally,” he added.
He concluded: “They’re the key changes – we’re getting everyone on board, talking together, and be a part of steering the ship.”
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