P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Haas F1 engineers “can’t bull****” new team boss Komatsu
Guenther Steiner, the outspoken and popular founding team principal of Haas, left the team as his contract ended over the winter, following a disagreement with owner Gene Haas regarding technical structure and investment after the team finished last in 2023. Ayao Komatsu, former BAR and Renault engineer, who had been the team’s trackside engineering director since 2016, has taken over as the new team principal. Komatsu’s engineering background and experience make it difficult for engineers to deceive him, as Nico Hulkenberg mentioned during pre-season testing in Bahrain. The restructuring within Haas’ technical department, overseen by Komatsu, aims to optimize structures and maximize current resources. The team faced challenges in the previous season, with Hulkenberg admitting that while the car wasn’t initially terrible, a lack of progress caused them to fall behind. With technical director Simone Resta returning to Ferrari and Andrea De Zordo being promoted internally, the team is hoping for improvements under Komatsu’s leadership, drawing praise from driver Kevin Magnussen for his deep understanding of all departments and technical aspects of Formula 1 cars.
