Haas F1 has already earned points for five stages in a row, although it cannot yet be said that the American team’s position in sixth place in the constructors’ championship is that strong. Visa RB is only 10 points behind and may be able to catch up if a successful combination of circumstances occurs.
However, Haas F1 boss Ayo Komatsu believes in his team, is proud of the progress it has made and believes it can challenge even Aston Martin.
“This is just incredible! Thanks to everyone who built such a car, because this is the credit of the entire team,” says Komatsu in an interview with the American radio station SiriusXM. – From the very beginning of the year we try to work more and more harmoniously. If we act as one team we can seriously push our rivals, and that’s what we’re doing. So I’m very proud of how everyone works.
Whatever position you hold – you are an IT specialist, engineer or technician, designer or CFD technology specialist – I cannot thank everyone in our team enough.”
Haas F1 has been participating in the World Championship since 2016 and its best result remains 5th place in the Constructors’ Championship, which it achieved in 2018 – it was in that season that the drivers earned points in six consecutive rounds. If Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg manage to reach the top eight in the sprint in Sao Paulo or finish in the top ten on Sunday, the team will repeat that record.
“We earned a lot of points in 2018, but now we try to do each race one by one,” Komatsu continued. – When there were eight stages left until the end of the season, I told the whole team that they should all be treated as if it were a championship final – we must do everything we can to beat our opponents. And now we are 10 points ahead of RB, so we just have to continue in the same way.
The Brazilian weekend program includes a sprint and previously, knowing our car, we actually ignored short races because we knew we still wouldn’t get into the top eight. Now we have changed our attitude and in Austin both Haas drivers scored points in the sprint. In general, there are still many opportunities ahead, I am happy for all of us, and it’s just great!
I’m not going to change the approach to the work, we just have to look ahead. The essence of my philosophy is that you should always try to take it one step higher. I agree, we are still far from 5th place in the team rankings, Aston Martin is far ahead of us, but this does not alter the need to give your best under pressure every weekend.
So the approach remains the same and we will try to rise to the next level. This year I have said many times that it is difficult to predict how competitive we will be. Brazil has a very technical circuit, difficult for the drivers, and preparing the car for it is not easy either. But we have had success on several circuits, so I am already looking forward to the podium in Sao Paulo, where we will try to perform as well as possible.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.