The major concerns facing Haas after Steiner’s bombshell F1 exit

Wednesday’s announcement of Steiner’s sudden departure just a month out from the 2024 F1 season came as a shock for many, with Haas naming Ayao Komatsu as the successor to the charismatic star of Netflix’s Drive to Survive series. 

As the dust settles on the news, we consider some of the serious questions and ramifications facing Haas, and what they mean for the team’s future prospects on the eve of a new F1 campaign. 

Will things be any better under Komatsu? 

Komatsu’s technical and engineering strengths might enable Haas to be more efficient than under Steiner’s leadership, and that is something owner Gene Haas appeared to allude to when he faced the F1 media for the first time since the news broke. After all, Haas believes the team has underachieved. 

"I think Guenther had more of a human-type approach to everything with people and the way he interacted with people, he was very good at that," Haas told F1.com.

"Ayao is very technical, he looks at things based on statistics - this is what we're doing bad, where can we do better. It's a different approach.

"We really do need something different because we weren't really doing that well. Like I said, it all comes down to eight years in, dead last. Nothing more I can say on that."

Perhaps McLaren’s incredible 2023 mid-season turnaround led by Andrea Stella, who comes from a similar background as Komatsu, and like the Japanese engineer is not a traditional team principal figure, has inspired Haas’ new approach. 

It is clear they now want engineering expertise to drive them forwards. 

But there is no guarantee that such a seismic change will result in the desired end goal. If no further investment is made, Komatsu will ultimately have to operate on the same resources as Steiner did.

Will the VF-24 be ready - and competitive? 

Alarm bells are also ringing over the current status of Haas’ 2024 challenger, with Haas admitting that is his “biggest concern” heading into the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. 

“My biggest concern is when we go to Bahrain, we need to show up with a car that is ready to go,” Haas said. 

Haas hope the VF24 will not be a hangover of its predecessor, which regularly starred over one lap in qualifying, only to plummet down the field in embarrassing fashion on race days. 

Tyre degradation and race pace proved to be Haas’ Achilles’ Heel last season, as well as the source of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg’s frustration. 

Confidence in the design department will not be at an all-time high, either, given Haas’ major upgrade in 2023 proved to be a failure, leaving the drivers ending the campaign running split packages as the team tried to understand which route was better, with no clear and obvious outcome. 

Replacing their other big departure

Slightly overshadowed by the news of Steiner’s exit was the departure of Haas technical director Simone Resta. 

Resta is to return to Ferrari - but reportedly not the F1 division - upon the expiry of his loan deal at Haas, which concluded at the end of 2023. 

No replacement for Resta has been named as yet and it is unclear who his successor will be. For the bigger picture surrounding Haas’ future development planning, this is a notable concern.  

With just over a month to go until pre-season testing, it is far from ideal timing for Haas to be undergoing such major upheaval. 

A double driver conundrum 

Soon, Haas will also have to consider their driver options beyond 2024. 

With both Magnussen and Hulkenberg out of contract at the end of the year, there could be more drama in store at the American team. 

After a remarkably quiet driver market with no movement for 2024, the next 12 months could be crazy, with 14 drivers on deals that run out upon the conclusion of the upcoming season. 

Will Haas opt for some stability at a time of great uncertainty, or ring more drastic changes with a totally refreshed line-up for 2025 and beyond? 

It remains to be seen whether Steiner’s departure will have any impact on who gets the two seats at Haas. Everything appears open at this very early stage.