F1, Haas does not take off
A promising start, then almost nothing more. The first half of the season for Haas is practically based on the weekends in Melbourne and Shanghai, where the American team collected 17 of its 21 points in the Constructors’ Championship thanks to the performances of Oliver Bearman. While the rivals have improved, however, Ayao Komatsu’s team has not been able to respond adequately: the Ferrari-trained talent has stalled (one point in the last nine weekends), Esteban Ocon did slightly better (three points) and his 2027 seat at Haas is almost compromised.
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The reason for this free fall lies in the spending capacity of Haas, which is even lower than the newcomer Cadillac, which has brought updates in many race weekends (although the latest ones were a flop). To describe it, Komatsu uses an effective image.
Komatsu’s words on the Haas crisis
“I wish we could operate within the budget cap (set at 215 million dollars for this year, ed.), but that is not the case. Being able to finance this team so that it can operate within the spending limit is one of my top priorities. We have been surpassed in terms of development, but that does not mean our guys are incapable. On the contrary, they are doing a fantastic job: they work as a team, there is an internal culture that does not blame others. But so far I have not been able to provide enough tools to allow them to show what they are capable of“, these are the words of the Haas team principal. “It is not fair to our guys to have this limitation. It’s like fighting with their hands tied“.
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“What they did at the beginning of this year is completely unexpected. You cannot expect the smallest team to have the performances we had at the start of the season, in the year of the biggest regulatory change. It was not a sustainable pace for us“, he added. “I have to manage to generate more revenue for the team and create a better environment for our guys. The rest is there, we have the right team and drivers. I am trying to achieve this as soon as possible and I am having great conversations, but it takes time“.
Under Komatsu’s management, Haas has seen growth in results. The team works well, knows how to develop and nurture talent, Bearman above all, but remains the smallest in the championship. The budget cap of 135 million dollars, in this sense, helped Haas because it prevented the competition from using a firepower that the Americans do not have. Naturally, with a spending cap increased by 60%, Haas struggles much more to keep up with rivals, and without other sponsors the gap will widen more and more.
