Ayao Komatsu dismisses Haas critics
Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu has no interest in entertaining critics of Kevin Magnussen’s defensive driving in Jeddah. The 48-year-old secured points in just his second race in charge, though not without criticisms from rivals.
A series of early skirmishes after the Safety Car restart shaped Haas’ Saudi GP strategy. Magnussen received two penalties in quick succession – with the most relevant being for overtaking Tsunoda off track.
Ironically, this move eventually contributed to the American outfit achieving a top-10 finish.
Over the course of several laps, the Danish driver kept the midfield at bay to create a gap for teammate Nico Hulkenberg. This allowed the 36-year-old to exit the pits in a net 10th place after making his mandatory stop.
Haas unapologetic about strategy
Unsurprisingly, this sequence of events frustrated senior personnel across the field. Williams boss James Vowles and VCARB racing director Alan Permane were among them.
In a season where points will be so hard-fought, there was frustration about the strategy Haas used with their drivers:
“The strategy? I don’t make any apology. Anybody would have done that,” racingnews365 quotes him as saying.
“[What was] unsportsmanlike us the fact we overtook Tsunoda by going off – but we just didn’t know. We put [measures] into place internally to make sure that if the same things happen, we can spot it straight away.
“But what happened after in terms of creating a gap, that’s the obvious thing – If you didn’t do that, you’re not doing your job.
“It’s obvious what we needed to do… Any team would have done the same. And if somebody says no, that’s unsportsmanlike – it’s complete bullshit.”
Heading into this weekend’s Australian GP, there will be plenty of intrigue about whether Haas can sustain its impressive speed to start 2024.
So far, the VF-24 is maintaining its predecessor’s relative qualifying performance while showing far greater management over a race distance. This gives Haas a far stronger foundation to build upon as the season progresses.
Of course, their capacity to improve mid-season improvements is relatively limited. However, they can still secure crucial points early in the season whilst they have the necessary machinery.
Moreover, it seems feasible that Ferrari’s trajectory will trickle down and improve the VF-24 as the season continues. In any case, if Haas can maintain its current performance, Ayao Komatsu will continue to exceed expectations.
