With four races and one sprint event completed, this year’s Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship is led by McLaren, followed by Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, and – Haas?
That’s not a misprint. No need to reduce your CBD gummy intake. The US team is currently at the front of the midfield pack, largely on its own merit, leading us to ask if this is a sign of exciting things to come.
The Season So Far
Despite some pre-season promise, Haas opened the season with a difficult race in Melbourne, being almost two seconds off the ultimate qualifying pace and putting the squad firmly at the back of the grid. Unfortunately, it was an all-too-familiar scenario, seeing Haas toiling away in the back..
The team’s struggles were so severe that quietly spoken team principal, Ayao Komatsu, thought, “either something [is] broken or something’s completely out of the ballpark.” The latter was closer to the truth. An aerodynamic design miscalculation was causing the car to play “catch-me-if-you-can” through high-speed corners, and it wasn’t a quick fix.
The track in China offered more slow-speed corners, allowing the team to work around the issue and post impressive finishes of fifth and eighth. Such a rapid rebound points to a trend that will be explored more later: Haas is starting to look like a highly promising student, rather than the class clown.
By Japan, the team had rushed through a revised floor in the hope of solving its problems with fast corners, a distinct feature of the Suzuka circuit. The result? A 10th-place qualifying grid slot for Ollie Bearman, a position he held to the checkered flag.
Again, addressing a troublesome car in such short order was impressive. Red Bull might want to take some notes. Snicker.
Last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix saw a disappointing qualifying session, with the team securing 14th and 20th on the grid. However, with some grit and determination from the entire crew, combined with clever in-race strategies, the team secured two more top-10 finishes. It seems that a very real and exciting pattern is emerging.
A Long and Winding Road
From the antics of ex-team principal Guenther Steiner to the frankly bizarre Rich Energy sponsorship saga, it’s safe to say Haas built a reputation for being the F1 paddock’s light entertainment.
For the past six years, the team has primarily battled Williams for last-place honors, claiming the Wooden Spoon in 2021 and 2023, and only one place better in 2019 and 2020. As a side note, Williams has also been experiencing a revival lately, but that’s a story for another day.
Those less-than-stellar performances led to Steiner’s exit at the end of 2023, with trackside engineering director Ayao Komatsu being promoted to the top spot. Haas finished seventh last year, Komatsu’s first season at the helm. It was the team’s best result since 2018, when they claimed fifth.
In an interview with PlanetF1, Komatsu summarized the improvements with one word: communication. “As everyone knows, we have two different sides, [the] UK and Italy,” he explained. “I believe, as long as we have the right structure inside the company, that bridges the UK and Italy.”
Better communication has also underpinned strong in-season developments, Komatsu believes. “Honestly, if we weren’t working together, I wouldn’t think that those upgrades…would have worked,” he continued. “So, that’s just proof that we can work together, and then that will translate into sporting results.”
What the Future Holds
Ayao Komatsu is not the only Japanese connection. Late last year, Haas and Toyota Gazoo Racing announced a new technical partnership, marking Toyota’s first involvement in F1 since its abrupt departure at the end of 2009 – over 15 years ago.
It’s a far cry from the embarrassing Rich Energy debacle or the ill-fated tie-up with Russian conglomerate Uralkali, which was cancelled following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The latter was still producing rumblings through 2024, Uralkali ironically leaning on international law to demand the return of its sponsorship money.
Toyota Gazoo Racing has been seeking a partial return to F1, offering a world-class technical facility in Cologne, Germany. “They are looking for the latest F1 know-how and skillset, which we have, but we don’t have their facilities, the number of people, and their resources,” Komatsu told the F1 website. “So, that’s how we’re tapping into each other’s expertise.”
Could Haas Actually Win Races?
There are very positive signs, and you only need to remember Alpine’s double-podium finish in Brazil last year to realize that a similar result isn’t out of the question for Haas, if the right opportunity presents itself. Moreover, they’ve already achieved top-10 finishes in three of the four early-season races this year.
Haas is running Ferrari powerplants, by all accounts a better all-around performer than the Renaults, and their new approach to racing appears to be working. Had they been in Alpine’s position in Brazil last year, they might have even claimed the top step.
Of course, we shouldn’t expect Haas to be dominating the sport any time soon, but their fortunes do seem to be on an upward trajectory. As they begin to gel with their new teammates at Toyota, things could get even more impressive.
With Cadillac set to join the grid in 2026, ending Haas’ tenure as the sole US entrant, North American F1 fans finally have something to be excited about. All good things come to those who wait.
Peter Molloy began following Formula 1 during the 1985 Australian Grand Prix. He cheered for a certain Ayrton Senna, who was driving the same black and gold colors as a toy F1 car that Pete had been given. Pete continued to be a fan of Senna throughout his childhood. Fast forward many moons, and Peter now combines significant journalistic experience with decades of watching F1 to cover the latest on-track and off-track action.