Motor racing-Haas expecting to start the 2024 season among tail-enders

Komatsu

02/02/2024 17:55

By Alan Baldwin
       LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Haas expect to start the
Formula One season among the tail-enders, new boss Ayao Komatsu
said on Friday as the U.S.-owned team became the first to
present their 2024 challenger.
    The VF-24 car, shown online in digital renders, is a
development of a concept introduced last October at the U.S.
Grand Prix in Austin. It will have a track shakedown at
Silverstone on Feb 11.
    Haas, with Germany's Nico Hulkenberg and Denmark's Kevin
Magnussen, finished last in 2023 with only 12 points from 22
races. Komatsu replaced the departed Guenther Steiner at the
helm last month.
    The season starts in Bahrain on March 2 after testing there
from Feb. 21-23. 
    "Out of the gates in Bahrain...I still think we're going to
be towards the back of the grid, if not last," said the Japanese
engineer.
    "The reason our launch-spec car is not going to be quick
enough in Bahrain is not because of the quality of the people we
have here, but it's because we started late and then we stopped
for two months to do the Austin upgrade.
    "It really diverted resource, so we lost time there, but the
team is finding good gains in the wind tunnel so that's positive
and in terms of characteristics, it's going in the right
direction."
    Komatsu said the immediate aim was to come away from testing
in Bahrain with quality data to provide updates during the
season.
    He added that while the Austin update delayed the new car's
development, it provided more confidence in what was being
presented now.
    "We're all realistic that our launch car in Bahrain will not
necessarily turn heads, but our concentration and focus is to
work with the VF-24, understand the car and then define the
correct pathway to upgrade the car," he explained.
    Haas also announced chief designer Andrea De Zordo had been
promoted to technical director and were expecting to fill his
vacated role with an internal candidate.
    Previous technical director Simone Resta, who previously
worked for engine providers Ferrari, left the team at the same
time as Steiner.
    Damien Brayshaw has been appointed to the new role of
performance director.

 (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
 ((alan.baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; +442075427933;))