Komatsu details Haas resurgence from team's ‘lowest of lows’
The Haas F1 Team's 2024 season marked a remarkable turnaround under new team principal Ayao Komatsu, who guided the US outfit out of the depths of a dismal 2023 campaign.
Rising from dead last to seventh in F1's Constructors' Championship, Haas demonstrated a newfound cohesion and purpose, a stark contrast to the struggles of the previous year.
The 2023 season had ended on a bitter note for Haas, as a major upgrade introduced at the United States Grand Prix in Austin failed to deliver any performance gains.
Instead, the new package slowed the car down, underscoring the team's struggles.
Komatsu, who replaced Guenther Steiner at the helm at the start of 2024, detailed the journey from what he described as the team's “lowest point” in its history to a season of optimism and progress.
“Austin last year [in 2023] was the lowest point, one of the lowest points of this team,” the Japanese engineer told racing website Epartrade.
“To do a race 19 [18] update, that didn't make sense. Then we did it, and of course the car didn't go faster, the car actually went slower.”
That painful episode symbolized the need for change. With Komatsu's promotion to main team, Haas began its quest for redemption.
From Rock Bottom to a Resurgence
Under Komatsu's leadership, Haas made steady progress in 2024, narrowly missing out on sixth in the championship to Alpine.
The result was beyond the expectations of many, given where the team had been just a year earlier.
“Coming from that low, lowest of the low, to having such a positive vibe in the team, working well as a team, I think we came a long way,” Komatsu said.
“I think everyone's looking ahead, which is great.”
While the team was disappointed to lose out to Alpine late in the season, Komatsu saw a silver lining in the close fight.
“We were pretty down after Alpine took P6 from us,” he admitted. “But in a way, it's good to be down being dropped from P6 to P7 because we are there fighting.”
Believing in the Team's Potential
Komatsu credited its long history with Haas and its understanding of its personnel as key factors in the team's rebound.
Having been with the team since its first competitive season in 2016, he recognized both its strengths and weaknesses.
“Guenther's donated a lot for the team,” Komatsu said. “He was instrumental in setting up the team. Without Guenther, this team [wouldn't] exist. I have huge respect for that.
“I've been with the team since 2016, day one of the racing year. Of course, Guenther was there from before, to set up the team.
“But I joined in January 2016, so I know the team pretty well, I know the people, I know the strengths and the weaknesses of the organization.”
Komatsu saw his promotion as an opportunity to address areas of underperformance and give the team the tools to succeed.
“The last five years we haven't been performing,” he said. “There's certain frustrations, things that I thought we can do better if we implemented certain things here and there.
“So that was really, for me, an opportunity to see or implement those things, to see if my assumption was right or if I was wrong.
“Then honestly, like I said, I believed in the people we got, and then those guys proved me right.
“I tried my best to give them the environment for them to perform, put upgrades on the car that work, and then hats off to them, they delivered.”
Collaboration with Toyota: The Key to Haas's Future
While Komatsu was able to guide Haas to a stronger 2024 season, he acknowledged that the team was approaching the limits of its current capabilities.
To take the next step, Haas entered into a technical collaboration with Toyota, which Komatsu sees as vital for long-term growth.
“Certain things I had to do immediately. I was pretty sure [that] without any further investment in terms of resource or facility, we can perform better as a team.
“So that's a bit I had to get going straight away,” he explained.
©Haas
“But in the background, you had to raise the ceiling of the team. I was thinking, how is the best way to do this? And then in pretty early days, from Bahrain time, I started talking with Toyota.
“The initial, of course, idea was a bit blurred, if you like. But then the more we talked together, it was pretty clear that this is a perfect match, that if we do this collaboration, we can increase the absolute capability of the team.
“If we can work as a small team, efficiently, then if we can gradually increase that baseline capability, we can achieve better things.”
Komatsu acknowledged that without external support, the team's ceiling was limited.
“If I don't change anything, if we just keep going with this size, this business model, without things like the Toyota collaboration, I think what we are doing now would be the ceiling.
“We won't go any better. But that's not good enough.”
Looking Ahead
With the Toyota partnership in place, Komatsu's vision for Haas involves becoming a consistent top-midfield contender with ambitions to climb even higher.
The progress made in 2024 demonstrates the team's resilience and determination to move forward.
As Komatsu put it: “We want to be improving. “We want to be consistently top of the midfield and then looking ahead, improve even further.”
From their lowest ebb in 2023 to a revitalized operation in 2024, Haas has proven that even the smallest teams can dream big.
With Komatsu's guidance and Toyota's backing, the future looks bright for the American outfit.
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