According to the pre-season statements of the new Team Principal, Ayao Komatsu, the start of 2024 was going to be a struggle for Haas. The managerial and technical changes over winter could have badly affected the American team. However, Gene Haas’ men have been able to put a competitive VF-24 on the track, especially on Sundays.
They have built upon last year’s flaws and taken advantage of their collaboration with Ferrari. Their use of Maranello-produced components has enabled them to fight at the front of the midfield. Haas are comfortably ahead of Alpine, Williams and Sauber.
THE VF-24 IS GETTING BETTER AS HAAS PURSUES AN AGGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
After eight races, Haas has already debuted their first important developments on its VF-24. Their upgrades were divided between Shanghai and Miami, showing a more aggressive approach from the American team compared to the past.
In Imola, Haas carried out comparisons between their two specifications. One was a completely updated VF-24, whilst the other was the team’s original specification. Tests were carried out and data was collected extensively.
“Compared to previous years, I think we are in a better situation, and we are satisfied with the work done,” stated the new Haas Technical Director, Andrea De Zordo.
The updates brought were also confirmed after further analysis. Haas’ specific high-load package also made its debut in Monaco. Provided they avoid their legality issues, this setup will be a baseline for future events.
“We didn’t opt for an extreme Monaco Spec package but for something that was more efficient. So that we could have components that could also be used on other high-load tracks,” explained De Zordo.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu is satisfied that his team is on the right path.
The American team’s goal is to improve on last year’s 10th-place finish. At this stage, they are on track to finish several places higher. Points are now regularly attainable for the US squad.
“We have a lot of good people on the team, and there is an open relationship between departments. We talk to each other and even say things we wouldn’t like to hear, but no one is defensive. Let’s all push in the same direction to progress,” said the Japanese team principal.
The development program will be more intense to continue the team’s growth. De Zordo confirmed that Haas is already working on the next developments.
“We are already working on the developments to introduce in the second part of the season.”
THE UPDATES WORK, BUT NOT EVERYTHING WENT AS EXPECTED
“We brought many small innovations together, which formed a nice package. Now we will analyze what worked and what didn’t work as expected in order to improve,” declared the Italian technical director of Haas.
The VF-24 has progressed, and this has been confirmed by pilots and the team leader himself. Komatsu himself wanted to go into more detail:
“The car has improved, there’s no doubt about that. But particularly in the slow corners, we didn’t make the improvements we expected.”
A situation opposite to that declared by Andrea Stella for McLaren. In Montreal, the team will conduct further tests to understand this divergence between expectations and reality, with a curious fact that Komatsu himself had revealed, namely how the VF-24 was slower in the wind tunnel than it actually was on the track.
This time, as far as slow curves are concerned, the opposite situation occurred. Correlation is always a very complex topic, as is extracting the potential from new parts to incorporate and adapt to single-seaters with a very sensitive aerodynamic platform.
Part of the important Haas progress is also due to the new Ferrari rear suspension, defined as innovative by the Maranello team.
This is a component that Haas welcomed positively, especially due to its much smaller dimensions than the 2023 version. Ferrari’s choice maintained the advantages of a pull rod mechanism at the rear on a mechanical level whilst greatly improving the aerodynamic quality.
“There has been an improvement on both the mechanical and aerodynamic sides. Let’s say a non-marginal gain.
“Compared to 2023, we have changed the aerodynamic map at the rear of our car a lot, but the new rear suspension has helped us to open the setup window.
“It’s not only better, but it’s also very consistent. This improves handling and gives drivers confidence,” explained Ayao Komatsu, confirming the progress made in that area.
Any progress made at Ferrari is also good news for Haas. Ferrari’s tyre performance engineer has outlined Maranello’s progress in this area.
