Haas surprised by changing team boss in Formula 1. After eight years, Günther Steiner – who has been working on the project since the preparations began in 2014 – was replaced by Ayao Komatsu, who is an internal promotion.
Gene Haas, the owner of the American structure, thanked the Italian and explained the decision to make changes: ‘I would like to start by thanking Günther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and wish him well for the future. To move forward as an organization, it was clear that we need to improve our on-track performances. By appointing Ayao Komatsu as team boss, we fundamentally change the heart of our management’.
The leader and businessman argued that improvements are needed in some aspects and acknowledged that the results need to be more consistent: ‘We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in achieving results that help us reach our broader 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 look forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximize our potential – this truly reflects my desire to compete properly in Formula 1.
