Ayao Komatsu sees no danger to Haas’ identity from General Motors and remembers the 2016 entry: hard work and a lot of resignations
The only American team in Formula 1 – that was once! Because the Haas team is likely to face heavyweight competition from 2026, when General Motors’ Cadillac brand joins the premier class as a new team, taking away Haas’s unique selling point – at least that one.
But the team emphasizes that its own approach will not change with Cadillac: “We just have to focus on our own identity and how we want to portray ourselves,” says team principal Ayao Komatsu.
Does that identity mean that there is an American private team and an American manufacturer? “I don’t know, you can market it however you want, but we know our identity,” says the Japaneseman.
And that began in 2016, when owner Gene Haas took the plunge into Formula One, which at the time was a completely different world than it is today. “He committed to this very early on, and as a private owner, so we have our own identity and we continue with that,” says Komatsu. “It’s not influenced by other teams.”
Komatsu was also on board when Haas was preparing to enter the racing series, so he knows how big a challenge Cadillac faces. And it should not be underestimated.
Everyone was ready before the first kilometers of driving
Because when Haas set out for the very first test drives in the run-up to the 2016 season, “I felt as if I had already completed the entire test drives and half a season. I was dead,” he says. “And then I realized: We haven’t driven a meter yet. That’s the level.”
He says that even before Haas competed in his first race in Australia, some employees had handed in their resignations because the work was so hard. “It’s just hard, and everyone is on their last legs,” he says, drawing a brutal conclusion: “I wouldn’t want to do it again.”
Because: “If you think it’s bad, it’s even worse. Honestly!” Because three days before they started the car for the first time, Komatsu was convinced that they would never be able to do it in three days. “But we did it.”
“Without Romain’s P6, even more would have quit!”
And before Australia, the only goal was to finish the race. “Because I don’t think we had practiced a race simulation or enough pit stops. And then when you get to Australia, the workload is just incredibly high. We worked through that one night completely,” recalls the then lead engineer.
“And Sunday before the race, you schedule pit stop practice for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, right? And none of that happened. So you’re doing your first live pit stop in the race,” Komatsu said. ‘And that’s the whole madness you expose yourself to.’
“This is a win for us,” @RGrosjean says after crossing the finish line at the AusGP HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/vuTmne0ky8
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 20, 2016
Contrary to all expectations, the first race for Haas in Melbourne was a great success. Although there was the spectacular crash involving Fernando Alonso, who collided with Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas, putting one car out of the race early, Romain Grosjean’s surprise sixth place ensured a successful debut.
“I think without Romain’s sixth place, more people would have quit,” says Komatsu.
