Gene Haas ready to invest in team if money isn’t wasted

After four seasons without a podium during which Haas only scored 52 points in total, team boss Günther Steiner and technical director Simone Resta left the team last winter.

Günther Steiner was replaced by former head of engineering, Ayao Komatsu, while Simone Resta’s position was taken over by Andrea de Zordo, who was previously the company’s chief engineer.

These decisions were made in the midst of founder and team owner Gene Haas’ frustration with the recent poor results, while outgoing team principal Steiner lamented a lack of investment. Although these developments cast doubt on the future of the company, Komatsu claims that Gene Haas has reaffirmed his commitment and remains willing to invest in the business, while the team is also recruiting new members.

« I was officially appointed on January 10, right? Gene’s message from the first day was absolutely clear: he said he had money, he was ready to invest it,” the Japanese driver told Autosport. « But we must show him that we can use the money responsibly and effectively.”

(e) He does not want to see waste. There is a reason why he is a billionaire, isn’t there? He does not like wasting money.

« So, when I looked, there are so many areas that we can improve. That’s why I wasn’t too worried about his initial message. Come on, you have to show me that you are using my money in a responsible way, then reach a certain position, so I think of investing.

But I know perfectly well that he will really invest when we reach this stage. And he has already ordered a new motorhome for next year, which is not a small investment. This is what we do, he insists.

Progressive changes

And we are now recruiting reasonably, considering the size of our workforce, a good part of the new recruitments is approved. So yes, Gene is now putting into practice what he told me. So I am not afraid that he will not invest. He will invest. But we have to do our part, that is, use his money responsibly.

Komatsu added that he was just trying to regain the trust of [Haas]. He also specified that the investment in a new motorhome had been agreed upon before the promising start of the 2024 season, a sign that Gene’s commitment had not wavered.

Currently seventh in the constructor’s championship, Haas will struggle to maintain this level against competitors such as Racing Bulls, Williams, Sauber, and Alpine.

Komatsu declared that the American team would be absolutely overtaken in the upgrade race and would focus on quickly introducing quality parts rather than quantity, while waiting for new recruits to join by the end of the year.

(e) Even if we increase the number of people at the moment, you know, before people join, it’s going to take another six months, right? So we are focusing only on the things we can control, and that’s what we have achieved.

« How can we do this most effectively? And then we try, let’s say, to define the updates so that we can make them as soon as possible, as early as possible, » he said.