The Latest Breaking News from Ayao Komatsu

The American-owned outfit is coming off the back of the recent bombshell news that long-serving team principal Guenther Steiner will not be staying on board after his contract was not extended.

Instead, the Japanese says his focus is on making the right changes that he thinks are needed behind the scenes to help move the American-owned squad off the bottom of the grid. 

In two years, all teams but Mercedes and Red Bull have changed their team principals. Steiner has joined Mattia Binotto, Jost Capito and Otmar Szafnauer (twice) on the list of those who were ousted in somewhat acrimonious circumstances, with director of engineering Ayao Komatsu taking over at Haas.

American team make surprise move as Ayao Komatsu hired

The American has also opened up on his reasons for not renewing the contract of team principal Guenther Steiner, and for promoting Ayao Komatsu to the role rather than taking on an outsider.

After all, the way that Andrea Stella took to the team principal role at McLaren like a duck to water – helping steer one of the most impressive F1 comebacks in living memory – showed all that’s possible with the right engineering-led focus at the top. 

Guenther Steiner, Haas’s team principal for 10 years, has been replaced for the new F1 season by Ayao Komatsu

The shock news was announced by the US-owned outfit on Wednesday in the wake of a poor 2023 season that saw it finish 10th and last in the constructors’ world championship.

Behind Verstappen, the battle for outright pace looks to be very close in conditions and through corner types that somewhat negate the RB19’s usual strengths. And in the long run exercises at FP2’s end, McLaren, through Lando Norris, seemed particularly strong.