Haas Boss Ayao Komatsu 'Felt Sick' After Australian GP Performance
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has revealed he "felt really sick" following the Australian Grand Prix weekend, which triggered major alarm bells within the team.
Why it matters
Haas had a challenging 2023 season, largely plagued by tyre degradation issues. While significant progress was made in 2024, leading to improved performance, the Australian GP exposed a critical weakness in their car, jeopardizing their season goals.
The big picture
During pre-season testing in Bahrain, Haas focused on high-fuel long runs with harder tyres to gather race data, aiming to address past tyre concerns. However, in Melbourne, a severe flaw emerged: the car was bottoming out at high-speed corners like Turns 9 and 10. This caused a complete loss of downforce, drastically slowing the cars and leading to on-track incidents during practice.
The immediate aftermath
Komatsu described the situation as a major wake-up call, stating, "Literally, I felt sick, because we were six-tenths off the next slowest car, six-tenths. How are you going to recover that?"
- Emergency Mode: Komatsu immediately launched the team into emergency mode. He recognized the depth of the issue and the urgent need for a solution, knowing waiting for planned upgrades (e.g., in Imola) would effectively end their season.
- Trust in the team: Despite the setback, Komatsu expressed faith in his team, crediting them for the significant improvements made to the VF-24 car throughout its development.
- Risk-taking: For the high-speed sections of Suzuka, doing nothing was not an option. The team had to take risks to implement quick fixes, even if it meant potential failure, to learn and improve.
The turnaround
Remarkably, after a point-less Australian GP, Haas delivered an outstanding performance in China, securing a five-eighth finish with Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen. This marked the team's best two-car result since the 2018 Austrian GP, where they finished fourth and fifth.
What's next
Komatsu's initial fear of a point-less 2024 season, a "real possibility" after FP1 in Melbourne, was quickly dismissed by the team's rapid response and improvement. Haas is currently ninth in the standings with 35 points after Round 14, closing the gap to sixth-placed Aston Martin by just 17 points. The team's proactive approach after Australia has clearly paid off, demonstrating their resilience and commitment to fighting for points.