Haas F1 have appointed Ayao Komatsu as their new Team Principal, with Guenther Steiner departing the team.
Steiner had led the team since their arrival in F1 under which Haas have taken one pole position, which came courtsey of Kevin Magnussen in Qualifying for the 2022 Sao Paulo Sprint.
Magnussen took to X to pay tribute to Steiner for his hard work throughout a ‘tremendously challenging’ period for the team.
Thanks, Günther. Thanks for taking me on the journey in 2017 and thanks for bringing me on board again in 2022. It has been both fun and tremendously challenging – but never boring. So long and all the best 👊 @HaasF1Team pic.twitter.com/7xcmYeZRbY
— Kevin Magnussen (@KevinMagnussen) January 10, 2024
Magnussen’s teammate, Nico Hulkenberg meanwhile thanked Steiner for allowing him to return to racing again in F1.
Thanks, Guenther. For your trust, friendship and the opportunity to go racing in @F1 again! You’re definitely a character.. all the best! pic.twitter.com/3eMRuA06qw
— Nico Hülkenberg (@HulkHulkenberg) January 10, 2024
Haas Test Driver, Pietro Fittipaldi thanked Steiner for his support and providing a chance to develop as a driver on and off the track.
Very grateful for everything you have done for me Guenther! I grew tremendously as a person and racing driver learning from you. Thank you for being a great boss, friend, and mentor. All the best wishes for you always! pic.twitter.com/VrJfqwIcKU
— Pietro Fittipaldi (@PiFitti) January 10, 2024
“I’d like to start by extending my thanks to Guenther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and I wish him well for the future,” commented Gene Haas, Haas Team Owner as he paid tribute to Steiner’s work whilst he looked ahead to Haas’ future ambitions.
“Moving forward as an organization it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances. In appointing Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management.”
Haas also acknowledged the success that the team have already achieved in F1 but iterated that consistency is required, as he explained: “We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organization.
“We need to be efficient with the resources we have but improving our design and engineering capability is key to our success as a team. I’m looking forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximize our potential – this truly reflects my desire to compete properly in Formula 1.”
Komatsu meanwhile is “naturally very excited to have the opportunity to be Team Principal at MoneyGram Haas F1 Team,” as he steps up to his new role from his former Director of Engineering position.
The Japanese-born engineer went on to iterate that he is eager to bring success to Haas, as he continued: “Having been with the team since its track-debut back in 2016 I’m obviously passionately invested in its success in Formula 1.
“I’m looking forward to leading our program and the various competitive operations internally to ensure we can build a structure that produces improved on-track performances.”
Komatsu though is aware that F1 is “a performance-based business,” after a difficult 2023 season as he admitted that the team “… obviously haven’t been competitive enough recently which has been a source of frustration for us all.
“We have amazing support from Gene and our various partners, and we want to mirror their enthusiasm with an improved on-track product.
“We have a great team of people across Kannapolis, Banbury and Maranello and together I know we can achieve the kind of results we’re capable of.”
Leave a Reply