F1 team owner, Gene Haas, has explained that Ayao Komatsu's engineering expertise played a crucial role in their decision to appoint him as new team principal.
Komatsu, taking over from Guenther Steiner after a decade-long stint at the team, will lead Haas into the 2024 season, starting with pre-season testing in Bahrain.
The team finished P10 in the constructors' championship in 2023 and a change in leadership has been put in place with immediate effect.
There has been some speculation surrounding the reasons behind the decision to part ways with Steiner, but Haas has now clarified that Komatsu's skillset was a vital factor in his appointment.
Former F1 team principal Guenther Steiner (L) and Mercedes chief Toto Wolff (R)
Why was Ayao Komatsu appointed Haas team principal?
Haas F1 team owner, Gene Haas
“Moving forward as an organisation it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances," Haas said in a team statement.
"In appointing Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management.
“We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organisation.
"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."
Who is Ayao Komatsu?
Haas F1 team principal, Ayao Komatsu
The 47-year-old Japanese engineering graduate has been with Haas since its debut season in 2016.
Komatsu boasts over 20 years of experience in F1, in both management and engineering roles.
Beginning his motorsport career at British American Racing as a tyre engineer in 2003, a move to Renault in 2006 as a performance engineer would eventually see him promoted to Vitaly Petrov's race engineer five years later.
Working closely with Romain Grosjean in 2012, Komatsu followed the Frenchman to Haas to become trackside engineering director in 2016.
He has now assumed the role as team principal, following the sudden departure of Steiner as announced by the team on Wednesday.
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