20/08/2025 14:30
As F1 ushers in sweeping regulations changes over the winter, Haas
finds itself objectively at a "huge disadvantage", according to
team principal Ayao Komatsu. The plucky American squad is an
underdog in the F1 paddock, significantly smaller in personnel than
its rivals, even in the midfield, and until recently not even able
to max out on the championship's imposed cost cap. Despite that,
the Kannapolis-based outfit, with facilities in Banbury and
Maranello, has managed to compete with F1 champions, like Williams
and Team Enstone (currently Alpine), and projects undergoing
massive transformation amid substantial investment, like Aston
Martin. However, with rule changes for both power units and chassis
casting a dark shadow over the horizon, Haas faces an uphill battle
to retain the ground it claimed on its rivals during the current
ground effects era. Speaking recently as part of an interview with
RacingNews365 and select other publications, Komatsu, who has led
the team since the start of the 2024 season, explained that Haas
finds itself on the back foot. When asked where the 2026
regulations overhaul was a bigger test for the team than the one in
2017, just its second season in F1, the Japanese engineer detailed
why it is. "Yes, because '17 was only an aero change," Komatsu
promptly replied. "This is aero and PU together. "Then this PU is a
huge challenge in terms of energy recovery, deployment, and that
means a driver is completely in that loop. Then, the simulator
plays a much bigger role - and that's the area we are behind. "So
for sure, it's a huge challenge, but it really focuses on us on
that. We've got to really improve that as quickly as possible."
Haas is a Ferrari power unit customer, so it does not have control
over the product it receives from the Italian team. However, how it
utilises it, through management and optimisation, is, and using a
simulator is the best way of establishing its capabilities and what
it requires ahead of the new season. This is an area in which Haas
is lacking. The American team does not yet have a simulator of its
own, so it is reliant on technical partner Toyota's while it
develops one. "So, yes, it is a huge challenge, but I think we are
focused on the right area to improve," Komatsu said. "To start off
with, for sure, we are at a disadvantage, but we just have to move
quickly... as fast as possible. "Then, through this process, we are
improving the team's capability. It's kind of forced upon us, but
that's what we've got to do." Being 'humble' about Haas' situation
The regulation changes are considerable, and as such, are being
broadly viewed as an opportunity to reset the established pecking
order in F1. But Komatsu is wary of the adverse implications it
could have for Haas, given the size of the team and the relative
shortfall of resources it has compared to its rivals. "We have to
be a bit cautious in the sense that with any big regulation change,
bigger teams would have an advantage, and the more established
teams, because they've got their established process,
methodology...," he pointed out. "You've got the horsepower to
throw at it. Like simulators are a good example. So all those, if
you really look at it objectively like that, we have a huge
disadvantage." Playing his own devil's advocate, Komatsu
highlighted that by extension of that logic, Haas should be rooted
to the foot of the constructors' standings year in, year out. "But
then, at the same time, if it's purely like that, we should be
finishing P10 every single year - we don't even have 400 people,"
he added. "The other teams have so many more people, and then much
better hardware, etc. "But we're not, we finished P7 last year, we
were eight points from finishing P6, so we're fighting in the
midfield, qualifying in Q3, so there's lots to be said about that
side, which you cannot measure objectively. "So in that sense, it
is an opportunity. But at the same time, I've just got to be humble
about where we are compared to other people. "Other people are not
stupid either, right? Like I said at the beginning of '24 in
Bahrain, I expected it to be last; that wasn't bullshit. That's
seriously what I expected." Pessimism vs. Optimism Haas enjoyed
somewhat of a renaissance under Komatsu last year, and whilst it
has slipped back slightly this campaign, to ninth at the summer
break, it is only 17 points adrift of Aston Martin in sixth.
Although the 49-year-old anticipates difficulty on the power unit
side of the 2026 rules, he is pleased by what he sees from the
other half of the impending changes. "From that moment, how we
progressed was amazing, but we've kind of got to do the same
starting with next year," he said. "The PU side is out of our
hands, right? How we optimise the usage is up to us, but I think
that's going to be a challenge for us. "On the wind tunnel side, I
think we are making good progress, so we'll see. It's neither too
pessimistic nor too optimistic. We're doing the best we can, and
once the season starts, we just have to run as quickly as
possible." Expanding on his final point, Komastu underlined his
faith in those working for him whilst reiterating the more daunting
half of the dyadic rule changes. "We can't be too optimistic, we
can't be too pessimistic," he stated. "I don't think we need to be
too pessimistic, because we've got good people, but the PU side and
PU management side are a huge challenge."
