Komatsu Suspected "Damage" on Haas F1 Car Amid Critical Issue

Haas Team principal Ayao Komatsu acknowledged that he believed some components were damaged when his Formula 1 team completed their first practice session laps at the Australian Grand Prix. He does not anticipate a quick resolution for their issues with high-speed corners.

Following a run plan akin to the one used during tests in Bahrain, where they prioritized exploring long-run pace and tire management over performance runs, Haas didn’t gather substantial evidence about their actual speed compared to the competition.

However, when the team reached Australia, they were at the bottom of the rankings, a fact that astonished the American squad. The primary issue identified was their deficiency in maintaining speed through high-velocity turns, notably Turns 9 and 10.

Komatsu stated that sacrificing a bit of performance in the slow-speed corners to allocate it to the faster sections of the track was necessary to place the vehicle within a "decent" performance range.

I don't believe this is an isolated incident,"Komatsu stated. "We were greatly surprised since nothing like this was anticipated from our tests in Bahrain.

The tests in Bahrain weren't ideal, but we didn't anticipate them being nearly as challenging as those in Melbourne. During FP1, when the car was on a rapid lap, I felt either something had malfunctioned or our performance was entirely off target.

So once we confirmed everything was intact and undamaged, we faced a major issue. It became evident that the trouble lay within Turns 9 and 10 at high speeds. We then focused our efforts on improving these turns even though it meant compromising performance at lower speeds.

Ayao Komatsu, Haas F1 Team

Image courtesy of: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

However, at that point, low-speed corners were acceptable, though not excellent – yet they represented a significant improvement over the problems we faced in Turns 9 and 10. By Q1, we managed to make Turn 9 reasonably good. However, Turn 10 was still far from satisfactory.

Ideally, we get this, yet considering our current challenges, addressing every aspect might not be feasible. Therefore, I believe taking some positive actions over the weekend was still appropriate.

Komatsu stated that the team intended to address the issue directly instead of abandoning it and concentrating on 2026. The team believes they have identified the root cause of the problem and plan to work their way through it.

He thought that the team wouldn't be capable of implementing a fix across multiple racing series due to how serious the issue is. Komatsu suspects this problem stems from the vehicle's interaction with the track surface when running at very low ride heights.

I believe this is the optimal approach considering the traits of the Melbourne circuit, including the weaknesses we identified in our car during our time there and the specific features of Turn 10. This way, at least, we have a clear grasp of the problem.

The following step involves identifying which component of the vehicle needs modification or which part exhibits sensitivity that can address this performance problem. Up until now, we have a fairly good understanding.

So then, naturally, the question arises: How do we go about finding a solution? Certain solutions might be relatively quick fixes, whereas others could require an ongoing process involving both Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations and experiments in the wind tunnel.

Thus, certain racial groups won't get a resolution—this issue is quite serious.