"Is it good enough? No”: New Haas boss Ayao Komatsu discusses its 2024 F1 challenger

Newly appointed Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu recently spoke about the team's 2024 F1 car and what the expectations are from him in the upcoming season.

Komatsu was recently promoted to the team principal position after the Kannapolis-based outfit removed Guenther Steiner from the role.

Speaking to a small group of media, Komatsu initially claimed that though Haas' 2024 F1 car is a step forward, he is unsure whether it is better or on par with the rest of the field as the team started the development of its new car pretty late.

“The ’24 car is a clear step, but whether it’s good enough against the competition to start off with, I don’t think so, because we started so late,” Komatsu said via F1.com.

Furthermore, Komatsu stated that Haas only needs to enter the first race of the 2024 F1 season, figure out if anything is wrong with the car, and move on from there. He admitted that although the team took a step forward, it might not be good enough.

“For me, then the key is whatever the car in Bahrain, whatever problem we see, we try to understand it and then move from that point as a team. We are a small team, as you know. We’ve got to move as one – otherwise, we don’t stand a chance. To answer your question directly, it is [the 2024 car] a step forward. Is it good enough? No. But what we do from that point is how we can show that we can improve the team or not,” Komatsu added.

---

Guenther Steiner on Gene Haas removing him from the team principal role

Guenther Steiner recently spoke about being removed by Gene Haas, the owner of the American F1 team Haas.

Speaking to Craig Slater of Sky Sports, Steiner insisted that Gene is free to keep or remove almost anyone on the team since he owns it.

"Gene owns the team so in the end he's free to do what he wants. I cannot accuse him of anything. I can accuse him but it doesn't do anything because he can make his decisions, he is free to decide," he said.

Furthermore, Steiner claimed that he was okay after leaving the team and hoped that he would soon find something else to work on in the future.

"I am actually fine, my life will continue. I will have fun, I will stay around. Something will pop up. I'm doing good. In the end, a good period in my life came to an end, but maybe an even better one starts," he added.

Haas ended dead last in the 2023 F1 season constructors' championship, scoring only 12 points.