Haas has considerably outperformed expectations considering going into the current Formula 1 campaign with the assumption of starting at the rear of the field.
The German driver himself called it a “hell of a comeback,” citing back-to-back sixth-place performances from Nico Hulkenberg that propelled it to the forefront of the midfield battle and put it in a close duel with RB for sixth in the constructors’ title.
It’s crucial to realize, though, that Haas’ unexpected success this year is not the result of the team just creating a superior vehicle from the start and profiting from it.
Rather, even if the VF-24 is an upgrade over the previous model, the secret to its improved performance has been the manner it has maintained the pace of its in-season development program.
The influence has been felt since other teams have found it difficult to achieve such steady success. After all, depending on their level of success, updates are now frequently referred to as “upgrades” or “downgrades” in this year.
For instance, Ferrari most recently encountered some difficulties with a new floor that it debuted at the Spanish Grand Prix, reviving its problems with high-speed bouncing.
Aston Martin’s attempt to compete in the midfield pack has been hindered by a new package it brought to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which rendered its AMR24 more difficult to drive at high speeds.
Plotting a path out of these challenges is made more difficult for both teams by the fact that while the new parts have increased downforce, they have also had unforeseen effects that have hampered real world advantages.
Even Haas has not been exempt from the trend of modifications not living up to expectations with the current generation of vehicles. However, the question of how Formula One’s smallest team has maintained such a high level of organisation when its larger budget competitors are having difficulty is a curious one, and one for which the team itself lacks a clear solution.
Ayao Komatsu, the head of Haas F1, claims that his team is not doing anything special that others aren’t, but he believes that this year’s instillation of a new mindset is the main reason.
Haas responded, “I don’t know honestly, the only thing we can say is that we’re working together,” when asked what the key to his success was.
“We didn’t deliver all we had anticipated, including the wind tunnel and CFD statistics, even while we were releasing new parts, such as the modifications following Miami.
However, as a team, I was happy to see that no one was resisting or rejecting it during our meetings to talk about the new elements that did not live up to expectations. Rather, they stated: “Okay, we acknowledge this is the case; now, let’s investigate why.”
“You can apply the knowledge you’ve gained to the next update once you’ve accepted it and everyone is trying to grasp it. Thus, that could be one of the secrets, assuming there are any. There is an open working relationship between all parties and a culture of no blaming.
“I said on Thursday that I don’t want to say anything about this one [the British GP upgrade] until we run it because you never know,” You can never be sure in advance what we overlooked because mistakes are so common.
In contrast to previous team experiences, Haas has been able to achieve consistent progress with its modifications.
A significant development package brought to the US Grand Prix last year was a failure, and its shortcomings were made clear in Abu Dhabi when Hulkenberg, who had switched back to the previous specification for the season finale, easily outqualified it.
Haas also went through a phase in 2019 when it decided to revert to an earlier specification that seemed to be superior rather than continuing with a slew of upgrades that it had introduced.
For this reason, changing this historical pattern is very important to Komatsu, and he believes it may help open the door to even greater profits down the road.
“We proved it [that they can] and nobody can deny we put performance on the car,” he added. “In the press, people have been saying that our aero guys cannot put an update on the car,” he said. “Therefore, they should feel very confident as a result.”
All of it is centered around Komatsu’s belief that the club is finally realizing potential that has, in his opinion, remained unrealized for some time.
“I’ve said it from day one,” he continued. We truly have talented folks on our team; it was just a matter of assembling them. That is an issue for upper management.
This is what we got when we figured that out and gave them some time to work. We haven’t made many changes to the squad; it is still the same size. Well, Simone Resta, the technical director, is no longer with us, but other than that, not much has changed.
“We moved a few people and altered the framework, but the main focus was on setting the scene. We’re currently hiring, so we should soon have a larger crew.