As the countdown to the Australian Grand Prix intensifies, Ayao Komatsu, the principal of the Haas racing team, has reassured fans of the team’s readiness to address persisting bodywork glitches before the big event. The team’s ambitious 2025 design, which has been dubbed as “too aggressive,” is said to be the root cause of these issues.
During this year’s first filming day in Silverstone, Esteban Ocon’s car lost its right sidepod cover. Additionally, Oliver Bearman was compelled to make an unexpected pit stop during pre-season trials when part of the engine cover on his car’s left side came loose. Komatsu attributes these mishaps to the team’s quest to extract maximum performance from the VF-25’s bodywork.
“We acknowledge that our design was overly aggressive, but we now understand the cause and are focused on rectifying it in time for Melbourne,” declared Komatsu, voicing his disappointment with the situation. “Such problems shouldn’t occur. Our design alterations from last year were simply too daring.”
Komatsu expressed frustration over the impact of these issues, particularly because of the limited pre-season testing time available to prepare Haas’ two new drivers.
“The initial two days went rather smoothly,” he shared in an interview with SiriusXM. “However, the final morning was marred by this significant bodywork problem, which severely affected Ollie’s run. The car was in an unrepresentative state for approximately 75% of the morning, which is not ideal.”
Despite losing one of the six sessions, he affirmed his confidence in rectifying the problem before the Australian Grand Prix.
While Haas has some significant work ahead, Komatsu remains optimistic about the team’s competitive pace. He sees Williams and Alpine as potential leaders in the midfield pack and believes Haas is well positioned to challenge them.
“Williams and Alpine have shown impressive speed. While it’s hard to pinpoint our exact position, I believe we’re in the running. The competition is fierce, but we’re definitely in the mix,” he concluded.
