Ayo Komatsu: Our goal is to return to the fight

Before the start of winter testing, Haas F1 manager Ayo Komatsu answered questions from the team’s press office…

Question: This coming season will be your first as team leader. What are her short and long term goals?
Ayo Komatsu: The short-term goal is gradual progress. We have all the ingredients and experienced specialists in-house for this, but it is important that the team becomes one and moves towards this goal together.

The long-term goal will be a development of the medium-term goal: adapt the car and return to the fight. I believe we will succeed.

Question: What information do you want to get from the winter tests?
Ayo Komatsu: Last year, on race day, we didn’t have enough tires for the whole distance – we concentrated on working with them. The purpose of our testing in Bahrain is to gather information about the performance of the car and its tires, to understand how we can achieve more.

Q: This isn’t the first season that Kevin and Niko have worked together. What do you think of their working relationship and how they help the team?
Ayo Komatsu: They get along well with each other. They have slightly different demands on the car, but overall they are the same, which means the team doesn’t have to act both ways. They both provide very accurate commentary and speak the same language with the engineers, which helps the team move forward.

Furthermore, they are both mature, experienced drivers, so when it comes to Friday’s race program, tire allocation, etc., they both understand the big picture, which takes a lot of pressure off the technical team.

Q: You have two reserve drivers – Pietro Fittipaldi and Oliver Berman, how will their responsibilities be divided during the season?
Ayo Komatsu: Pietro has been with the team for a long time, he is a true professional and always in shape. Even when he’s not driving, he pays attention to everything that’s happening, so when we put him in the car – like after the incident with Roman – he’s ready. Due to the IndyCar program, he will be working with us for approximately half of the season. Oliver did a great job during the first practices and tests in Abu Dhabi, and he will help us in the rest of the races.

Q: This season, Berman will handle the team’s first six practices. Last season you were impressed by the young Brit. What goals are you setting for him this year?
Ayo Komatsu: The goal is gradual progress. If everything goes well, a person with his abilities can easily cope. If things don’t go well, and I hope they don’t, if there are problems with the car, you end up spending more time in the pits than you would like. It is important to be able to deal with difficulties, it is part of the learning process.

Q: Chloe Chambers represents the team at the Formula 1 Academy, how does the team support her?
Ayo Komatsu: It’s great that an American will represent Haas F1 at the Formula 1 Academy. We will help Chloe in every way possible, both technically and in terms of preparation.

Question: What are your expectations for this season?
Ayo Komatsu: Complex issue! I don’t look too far ahead, because these changes offer very interesting opportunities for everyone. Everyone strives to make progress in their field, and for me the most important thing is to bring it all together. We view every day as a challenge to see where we can improve.

Q: The team has three home stages in the US, two in Italy and one in Great Britain. Now you can add Japan to this list. Are you looking forward to your first home race as team manager?
Ayo Komatsu: Certainly! The Japanese fans have always been great supporters of us when we come to Suzuka, there are always a lot of passionate fans there. I’m looking forward to this phase.