Haas is so high up in the rankings thanks to bad rivals, says manager

It is no secret that the single-seater designed by Haas this year has been particularly performant. With a seventh place in the constructor championship for now, even the team principal Ayao Komatsu did not expect this result. According to the recent interview he gave to *Auto Motor und Sport*, the success of the car actually depends on the mistakes of other teams.

Financial problems to build the car

After a difficult 2023 season, during which Haas only managed to secure tenth place, the team saw an improvement in its performance in 2024. The off-season, marked by the departure of team principal Günther Steiner, allowed the arrival of Ayao Komatsu, the new team boss. While many credited the progress to this change, for the Japanese, it was the mistakes of rival teams that allowed Haas to move up.

Shortly before the start of the season, Haas was not feeling confident about the car they were going to use this year. Ayao Komatsu remained convinced that once again, the team would be positioned at the back of the grid. However, the American team surprised everyone by repeatedly grabbing sixth place at the end of the race. While the car’s performances were surprising, it wasn’t easy for Haas, which faced financial difficulties.

If other teams seem to have had the necessary time to develop their single-seater, for Haas, the situation is different. The team’s director revealed that they had to stop conceptualizing the car last year. “Honestly, the car we started the season with wasn’t exceptional,” admitted Ayao Komatsu. “We had to interrupt work on the 2024 car for two months due to the Austin update, which set us back a lot. Given that we are the smallest team on the grid, we realistically expected to finish in tenth place.”

Despite speculations about a potential financial boost following the departure of the former team principal, Ayao Komatsu clarified that no additional funds had been allocated to the team. “We have worked with our planned budget, and Gene Haas is ready to invest in the team if we achieve results. The budget has remained the same as last year,” he stated. Faced with challenging financial constraints, the Haas team had to capitalize on mistakes made by others to recover.

A seventh place that nobody expected.

At this mid-season in 2024, Haas managed to move out of the bottom spot it has held for several years now. Behind them, Alpine, Williams, and Sauber, who have experienced several technical issues with their cars. These difficulties that the three teams have faced are allegedly the key to the success of the team according to the Japanese. “It’s obvious what happened, the others simply made mistakes,” he confirmed. “Sauber had problems with pit stops, Williams had issues with the chassis, and Alpine had development and weight problems. We could not anticipate these setbacks for our rivals.”

However, even if the car seems to be performing better and better for this second part of the season, it is on the few points already scored that the team will have to rely on. Haas, which will compete with Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon in 2025, must now focus on the new single-seater. A large part of the current car can be kept for next year, so we do not want to completely stop development. However, we must also consider the long-term goal of 2026. As a smaller team, we cannot work in parallel as intensively as others, Ayao Komatsu said.

With ten more Grand Prix to go, the American team will have to rely on the performances already present on their car to maintain their seventh place in the standings. With a higher position compared to previous seasons, the team’s funding could increase for next year. If that happens, Haas could become a formidable long-term competitor.