Haas: establish itself in front of Racing Bulls and Williams for the end of the season
Ayao Komatsu, the director of the Haas team, has reaffirmed the team's ambitions for the end of the season: to surpass Racing Bulls and widen the gap with Williams. Following a good result in Singapore, the American team's goal appears more and more achievable.
The team principal of Haas, Ayao Komatsu, stated that the priority for the team during the next six races is to surpass its rivals, Racing Bulls (RB) and Williams, in the constructors’ standings.
A good result in Singapore.
After the Singapore Grand Prix, Haas reduced the gap with RB, sixth in the championship, from five to three points, while also strengthening its lead over Williams, trailing by 15 points.
As Fernando Alonso engaged in a duel with Nico Hülkenberg, Haas decided not to react to his pit stop. Although the German lost a position to the Spaniard, he managed to finish the race in ninth place, while his rivals Franco Colapinto (Williams) and Yuki Tsunoda (RB) finished 11th and 12th respectively, outside the points.
Komatsu justified this choice, explaining that they are focusing on the closest rivals of the American team: « Just to avoid any confusion or unnecessary discussion in real time, we thought that our race was against RB and Williams ».
« We knew Alonso was going to stop. And we knew that if we stopped now, he would position himself between Stroll and Gasly, and we would then be in the same situation. Did we want to do that? We could have done it, but once again, there is a risk of a safety car in Singapore, he added.
The Japanese driver emphasized that, despite losing two points by not opposing Alonso, the team managed to maintain a clear strategy: « By not fighting against Alonso, we lost two points, yes that’s true. But at least, we simply established an alignment. »
Finish ahead of RB and Williams
Looking ahead, Komatsu insisted that Haas must remain vigilant. A race in which many drivers retire could offer opportunities to other teams to score points: « Just look at the Baku race, where Williams scored 10 points. And we scored 12 points in Austria. So, one of us can score 10 to 12 points if something happens up front. Therefore, with Williams 15 points behind us, it’s not comfortable. And they are fast. »
The Haas team director concluded by mentioning the goals established for the end of the season: « We have closed the gap with RB, we have increased the gap with Williams. So now, with six races to go, we are three points behind RB, 15 points ahead of Williams. We need to score points against RB. This is the main goal. And the secondary goal is to score points against Williams. ».
