Japanese engineer Ayao Komatsu replaces Guenther Steiner as Haas F1 team principal

LONDON – Formula One wooden spoonists Haas announced the shock departure of colourful team principal Guenther Steiner on Jan 10, and promoted long-serving Japanese engineer Ayao Komatsu as his replacement.

The United States-owned outfit, who slumped to 10th and last in the 2023 constructors’ standings with only 12 points, said in a statement that the 58-year-old Italian-American had left with immediate effect.

Steiner had been in charge of the team since they entered F1 in 2016 and has attracted much attention for his lively outbursts on the successful Netflix show “Drive to Survive”.

“It’s disappointing and sad not being a part of the team going forward, but I wish the team all the best for the future. If any team deserves success, it’s them. I will always root for Haas,” he said on X.

Team owner Gene Haas said: “I’d like to start by extending my thanks to Guenther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and I wish him well for the future.

“Moving forward as an organisation, it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances.”

Steiner became a fan favourite thanks to “Drive to Survive”, in which he features prominently with his swearing and devastatingly frank and unfiltered assessments.

The departure of a cult hero, unless he pops up again elsewhere in the paddock, will be a blow for many of those recently attracted to the sport.

Steiner ranked as the third longest-standing principal after Red Bull’s Christian Horner and Toto Wolff of Mercedes.

Komatsu, 47, has also been with the team since the beginning after previous stints at British American Racing (BAR), Renault and Lotus.

He will take responsibility for overall strategy and track performance.

“In appointing Ayao Komatsu as team principal, we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management,” Haas added.

“We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals.

“We need to be efficient with the resources we have but improving our design and engineering capability is key to our success as a team. I’m looking forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximise our potential.”

Haas have yet to win a grand prix and their best season was 2018 when they finished fifth overall.

“We obviously haven’t been competitive enough recently, which has been a source of frustration for us all. We have amazing support from Gene and our various partners, and we want to mirror their enthusiasm with an improved on-track product,” said Komatsu.

The 2024 season starts in Bahrain on March 2 after testing from Feb 21-23. REUTERS, AFP