After McLaren, which revealed its new colors in January anticipating the rest of the grid, Haas kicked off the waltz of February presentations, revealing the livery on a render that previews some details of the new single-seater while waiting for the shakedown. The new colors do not represent a clear break with the past, even if there is a greater presence of black on the wall.
Before the pre-season tests in Bahrain, the VF-24 will make its track debut during two shakedowns: the first will be at Silverstone on 11 February, followed by a second filming day in Sakhir.
For Haas, 2024 represents a year of profound changes, on the one hand due to the promotion of Ayao Komatsu to replace Gunther Steiner, who left the American team at the end of 2023, and partly due to the transition to a concept that strongly recalls the lines Red Bull.
Haas VF-24
Photo by: Haas F1 Team
The engineers had already started in this direction at the end of last season, when in Austin they introduced a substantial package of updates with which they were close to the solutions of the world champion team, but some structural constraints of the project had shown its limits in waiting to start from a blank sheet of paper for 2024. Komatsu is aware that a change in philosophy is not enough to solve the problems of 2023, which is why it suggested keeping expectations low, aware of the challenges that await the team at this start championship, where he will have to understand how to make the most of the new car.
At the basis of this reflection there is also the fact of having started development work on the 2024 single-seater late, given that at a certain point it was decided to take a different path also with the VF-23, which however allowed us to draw useful indications for the future. Precisely on the basis of these reasons, Komatsu expects a subdued start to the season, but it is certain that some choices will pay off in the long run.
“We are realistic about our starting expectations for the VF-24. In Bahrain, I still think we will be at the back of the grid, if not last. The reason why our car at the start of the season will not be fast enough in Bahrain is not the quality of the people we have here, but that's because we started late and then stopped for two months to get the update package for Austin done,” explained the Japanese engineer, who took charge of the team this year .
“It was a lot of work to do and it delayed the development of the VF-24, but if we hadn't done it and had a big surprise in pre-season testing, it would have hurt us enormously. It was a difficult balance to strike. find, and the Austin package means that the launch version of the VF-24 may not be as advanced as it could have been, but at the same time we have more confidence in what we're putting on the track now.”
Haas VF-24
Photo by: Haas F1 Team
“We are all realistic that our car in Bahrain will not necessarily cause a sensation, but our focus is on working on the VF-24, understanding the car and then defining the correct path to update it.”
The hope is, therefore, that there will be a reverse path compared to the past, when Haas started the season very well and then ran aground during the championship, both due to the slowness in bringing updates and the lack of funds compared to rivals, the which clearly had a negative impact on development. From this point of view, Komatsu hopes to reverse the trend with simplified technical processes and a staff reshuffle.
Andrea De Zordo has been promoted from chief designer to technical director to replace the departing Simone Resta, while to fill De Zorso's old role there will be an internal promotion: “Our new Technical Director is Andrea De Zordo. Previously he was the chief designer and is a very technical person. His communication is good, he is good and listens to people, so I am very happy with this appointment. We are now recruiting the chief designer, but I think we have good internal candidates, so we will try to promote him internally.”
Haas VF-24
Photo by: Haas F1 Team
“Another key position is that of Performance Director [responsabile delle prestazioni], a position that didn't exist before, but which we created by giving the role to Damien Brayshaw, previously responsible for the Vehicle Performance Group. He will supervise and lead the direction of the updates along with the aerodynamic department and all other functions that analyze the car in full scale on the track. These are the key changes: we are involving everyone, talking together.”
The Team Principal's idea is that until last year it was difficult to understand even within the team what the objectives were, making it difficult to identify which direction to proceed in: “I think many people felt the same thing: they didn't know where the team was going team, how it would have improved. We need a goal, a vision and clear communication, to eliminate some barriers that were not necessary. Everyone must understand who they are dealing with, how the team and our approach to racing changes.”
“The drivers will also have a more important role. Last year, their understanding of the car's weaknesses was clear, but we were not able to reflect this in our car development program. With the changes made to the team, we intend tackle this problem by involving our drivers more in the development paths, so as not to miss anything”, added the Team Principal. Haas can count on a set number of simulator days to involve the drivers, agreed in collaboration with Ferrari, given that the American team uses the Maranello simulator.
Komatsu believes that while Haas will forcibly start 2024 subdued, the changes made will result in a more robust upgrade path that will pay off over the long haul. The hope is to follow a similar path to that of McLaren in 2023, continuing to progress throughout the championship.
Ayao Komatsu, Chief Engineer, Haas F1 Team, and Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, on the starting grid
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“If you look at the previous organizational structure, there was no clear path to closing the loop from that point of view. Everything that is found on the track is now a closed loop that goes through the aerodynamics, wind tunnel and CFD. Now, at least, even in case of disagreement, everyone is clear about why we are developing the car in a certain way.”
“This is one of the main reasons why we were not able to make updates to the car and slipped back during the season. Now we are already working in this way and there is much more transparency, openness and communication. Therefore, I believe that this year we will have a better chance of updating the car appropriately.”
The promise is therefore to be able to make significant progress throughout the championship, but also to update the car more frequently and incisively, an aspect that has often caught Haas off guard in the past.
“The objective is to complete a good test program for Bahrain, in order to have a good amount of data to analyze and understand in which direction to develop the car. This means precisely understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the car. VF-24, and then come up with a coherent plan to produce upgrades on the car, which has never happened before,” added the Japanese.
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