Haas secured a double points finish at the 2025 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, but Team Principal Ayao Komatsu admitted inherent flaws remain with its car.
The American outfit rocked up to the season opener in Melbourne with high hopes, which were soon crushed after a 13th and 14th-place result in the Australian Grand Prix.
Komatsu revealed afterwards that the VF-25 struggled with the high-speed corners, as its aerodynamic issues were disguised in pre-season testing due to the characteristics of the Bahrain circuit.
The Shanghai International Circuit, however, holds similar circuit traits to Bahrain with slow and medium-speed corners predominate.
Therefore, Esteban Ocon’s superb turnaround to secure a seventh-place finish for the team wouldn’t have been too much of a surprise.
Oliver Bearman utilized an alternate strategy to his advantage, finishing in 10th place from 17th on the grid.
Following disqualifications for both Ferrari drivers and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Ocon and Bearman moved up the order to fifth and eighth, respectively.
Collecting an impressive haul of 14 points from Sunday’s race, Komatsu hailed the response from his crew.
“It was an amazing reaction from the whole team,” he said.
“Australia was a shock to us, not something we were expecting based on Bahrain testing – but, man, what a reaction.”
However, the Japanese motorsport executive was quick to point out that the result was probably circuit-specific, as issues with the aerodynamic nature of its car have yet to be fixed.
“I’m not kidding myself to say we solved the problem – we haven’t,” said Komatsu.
“So certain circuits we go to, we’re still gonna have a big problem.
“But when we can operate the car in the way we want, thanks to the circuit characteristics, this is what we can do.
“We delivered today.”
Komatsu ‘happy’ with response to ‘shock’ Melbourne result
Ocon started the race for Haas from 11th on the grid as he jumped Williams’ Alex Albon at the race start.
The Frenchman gained more positions by undercutting multiple drivers after the first round of pit stops.
Bearman, starting on the hard tyre, stayed out for 26 laps before pitting onto the mediums to climb back up the order into 10th.
Both Racing Bulls of Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar opted for the two-stop, which proved to be slower as Ocon gained another position.
A disastrous double disqualification for Ferrari was a double delight for Haas as Komatsu continued to praise the turnaround.
“Everybody – people in Italy, the UK, US, and trackside, working together within the space of several days… Honestly I’m so happy with the way we’ve been working since that shock to get the result here.
“Everyone has a failure, right? But failure shouldn’t define you.
“What defines you is how you get up from that failure – and I think as a whole team we showed that.”
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 afterwards, Bearman explained how he did not foresee himself executing the one-stop strategy.
“I wasn’t expecting to do a one-stop, I was quite shocked when we went on to mediums,” the British youngster said.
What he did expect though, was for the Haas car to perform well in China.
“It’s the type of track which on paper is good for our car,” he added.
“It’s very smooth, not many bumps, and that’s what we’re looking for at the moment.
“We’d smooth all the other ones if we can.”
READ MORE – Ayao Komatsu fears Australia not a ‘one-off’ for underperforming Haas
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