“We started so late” - Haas boss downplays chances of strong start to 2024

Haas finished bottom of the F1 2023 constructors’ championship, with their lack of performance resulting in Guenther Steiner losing his job.

Komatsu takes up the role of team boss, and with his background predominantly in engineering, team owner Gene Haas is hopeful this will take the team forward.

However, it seems Haas will start the new season on the backfoot.

Speaking to the official F1 website, Komatsu revealed the start to the season could be a challenge for Haas.

• “He’s a very different person” - New Haas boss vows not to be ‘another Steiner’

“The ’24 car is a clear step, but whether it’s good enough against the competition to start off with, I don’t think so, because we started so late,” he said. 

“We changed the concept so late as well, and then by actually doing the Austin upgrade, we diverted our resources a little bit. I’m realistic with the car we’re putting out in Bahrain, but not in a negative manner. It’s not the fault of our engineers, our guys. They’re good people.

“For me, then the key is whatever the car in Bahrain, whatever problem we see, we try to understand it and then move from that point as a team. We are a small team as you know. We’ve got to move as one, otherwise we don’t stand a chance. 

"To answer your question directly, it is a step forward. Is it good enough? No. But what we do from that point is how we can show that we can improve the team or not.”

Haas confirmed they will shake down their new challenger for the first time on February 11.