Ayao Komatsu: Haas can fight for points after fixing Achilles heel

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu is satisfied that his team can compete for points in the 2024 F1 season.

When Haas revealed the VF-24 in pre-season, it was clear their 2024 package was a continuation of last year’s package. Ayao Komatsu and his team were largely building un a pre-existing platform.

Whilst this is not necessarily a negative, the American squad finished the 2023 campaign in poor fashion.

They ended up last in the standings, unable to resolve their fundamental tyre issues.

Considering that Gene Haas made clear over winter that his spending philosophy will not change, there was very little optimism surrounding the team.

However, the opening round of 2024 was very encouraging for Haas F1.

Nico Hulkenberg once again qualified in the top 10, serving yet another reminder of his calibre as a driver.

For a team like Haas, though, there was an acute awareness that celebrating too quickly would be a mistake.

One-lap performance was never an issue last season. It was over a race distance that the VF-24 could show its true colours.

Despite early contact for Nico Hulkenberg into turn 1, the race was very productive for the team.

The German driver demonstrated impressive performance and tyre management in Sakhir. For Ayao Komatsu’s engineers, that second component is critical.

Were it not for F1’s record levels of reliability, Haas could have picked up the pieces and taken points.

Moreover, Hulkenberg’s average race pace was enough for the top-10.

Without his first lap contact, it is plausible the German could have finished ahead of Lance Stroll.

Irrespective of this, team principal Komatsu sees many positives to take:

“Kevin’s race showed that we can fight this year. We don’t have the best degradation.

“But at least in the midfield, we can fight for the points.

“We didn’t do a perfect strategy but even then, Kevin was fighting in the midfield until the last moments. which was a huge positive.

“We know the margin of error is very, very small. So we need to step-up on that side as well.

“There are huge positives to take from this weekend.”

Something which remains to be seen is whether Haas can meaningfully develop their car mid-season.

There is overwhelming evidence to suggest the VF-24 could fail to keep up with its midfield rivals as 2024 progresses.

To mitigate this, Hulkenberg and Magnussen must optimise the package at their disposal in the early rounds.

Moreover, Komatsu must prove that – even with limited resources – Haas is capable of bringing updates and finding more performance.