Komatsu: I remember watching the races with Prost and Senna

Haas F1 Chief Race Engineer Ayo Komatsu shared memories of how he first became interested in motorsport and the team’s work at this stage of the season leading up to the Japanese Grand Prix.

Q: You started working in Formula 1 in 2003 and moved to Britain from Tokyo. Do you remember how your motorsport career developed when you go to Suzuka every year for the Japanese Grand Prix?
Ayo Komatsu: When I’m in Suzuka I don’t have time for memories for obvious reasons because there are still many races ahead and the season is in full swing. I don’t often think about the past, but as a child I watched the Formula 1 races at Suzuka in which Prost and Senna took part.

I still remember all this, so when I see the Turn 1 chicane, those images come out of my memory; they are interesting memories. Then I developed an interest in motorsports. When I was already working for the Formula 1 team, my first Japanese Grand Prix was the Fuji Circuit race in 2008. Then Fernando Alonso won and my mother came to that race. It was fun, but I thought: that’s great, I proved to everyone that they could work in Formula 1, even though no one believed I could do it.

Of course I’m always happy to see Japanese fans, they are very passionate and enthusiastic people.

Q: You have two sons growing up. do they share your love for motorsport? Do they know how your career has developed and how important your role is in the team?

Ayo Komatsu: Ryuma and Seiki like motorsports and are good at it, although I haven’t explained much to them. They enjoy watching races, building different cars from Lego and now they have already started karting. They really like it. I think they are aware of my role in the team and that I have moved to Britain to try to get a job in Formula 1.

They loved being at Silverstone for our team family day, and Ryuma, the eldest son, loved it when we took him to Suzuka as a little boy. When we go karting with them, they are not just interested in skating, they are interested in all aspects. They already know a lot about tactics, tire pressure, etc.

Question: The VF-23 is not an easy car to work with from a technical point of view. What do you look for first to help a driver overcome challenges? In which areas do you have the most problems?
Ayo Komatsu: The VF-23 has its weaknesses, but the advantage is that our car can show good speed in qualifying. Nico Hulkenberg has done a great job and shown what she can do, so we know her qualifications. At the same time it was clear that we had serious problems with the race pace.

This is what we focus on, and this is what the riders have been doing since the beginning of the season. When a car is not performing optimally, it is of course important to have the racing crew, team-based designers and aerodynamicists work together correctly. It is imperative that everyone understands exactly what improvements we need to achieve.

We are preparing quite large-scale updates to the car for the Austin podium, also looking towards next year, so we will see how the VF-23 performs there. We don’t expect miracles, but the information we receive there will be extremely important for next year.