F1 team planning Silverstone debut for 2024 car

New Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has revealed that his team's car will go through two track tests in February before official testing starts in Bahrain later in the same month.

The former chief race engineer recently made the step-up into the team principal role, after Guenther Steiner was sacked following a season in which Haas finished bottom of the constructors' championship standings.

With veteran drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg's contracts both expiring at the end of 2024, next season is expected to be a crucial one for the future of the American-based team.

Founder Gene Haas recently said that Steiner was sacked due to the lack of a podium in the outfit's short Formula 1 history, and that he had 'no interest in being 10th anymore'.

Haas' Steiner gamble

While the tumultuous off-season is expected to put Haas behind a little in their preparations for 2024, Komatsu has provided an in-depth schedule for how the team can be ready for the season-opening race in Bahrain.

“On 11 February we have a Silverstone shakedown and then two days before the official test starts, we have another shakedown in Bahrain, then we go into the official testing," he told reporters.

Despite this apparent delay in the team's preparations, Komatsu believes that Haas can make a step forward in 2024.

“The ’24 car is a clear step,” he said.

“But whether it is good enough against the competition to start off with? I don’t believe so, because we started so late.

“We changed the concept so late as well and then by actually doing the Austin update, we diverted our resources a little bit. So, I’m realistic about the car we put out in Bahrain, but not in a negative manner.”

READ MORE: F1 2024 car launches: Dates, times and how to watch live

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