In the wake of a challenging 2023 season, where Haas finished bottom of the constructors’ championship, it parted ways with its long-serving boss Guenther Steiner over the winter.
His replacement Komatsu is currently undertaking a review of the Banbury-based team’s operations with the aim of turning things around to get it further up the grid.
And while Gene Haas’s recent outspoken remarks about the performance of the team raised some eyebrows, Komatsu believes that his comments were well justified.
“Gene at the moment, he wants to get off the back of the grid,” said Komatsu. “You saw and heard how unhappy Gene was. I mean, of course, who's going to be happy competing in last place? It is embarrassing. It really is embarrassing.
“So I think it's positive that Gene's unhappy where we are. If the people in the team think, 'Okay, we are last, and then we're not sure where we're going because Gene doesn't say anything’ then [they will think], is Gene happy just making up numbers being P10? That's clearly not the case.
“It's actually motivating for everyone here. Okay, Gene is serious, he wants to improve the team. So let's do it together.”
While team owner Haas does not attend every F1 race, he is known to take a hands-on approach when he visits, and pays particularly close attention to technical matters.
Source: Autosport