Haas has been making serious strides in its first season without long-time boss Gunther Steiner.
Following Steiner's tenure, Ayao Komatsu stepped up as team principal for the American outfit in 2024, and the results have significantly improved.
"Nico (Hulkenberg)'s P6 on the grid (in Singapore), just six tenths from pole position, is like pole position for our small team," the Japanese chief remarked.
Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that Komatsu, who had been a key engineer at Haas for many years before his promotion, has successfully revamped the team culture.
"Every good idea is followed up now, no matter who it comes from," he noted. "In the past, the direction was set from above."
Haas used to struggle with consistent car upgrades, but this season all three major development stages have boosted the pace significantly.
"The first only worked 50 percent, the second delivered more than the numbers predicted, and the third was delayed by one race," Komatsu explained.
"With the first one, several of our guys immediately came up with ideas about how we could still get the most out of the package. There was no blame - everyone just pulled together," he added.
With regular points finishes, Haas has gone from being last overall in 2023 to now being ahead of Williams, Alpine, and Sauber, while sitting just a few points behind Red Bull's second team RB.
"Most of the time since the summer break we've been faster than Aston Martin," Komatsu said.
If Haas can pass RB for sixth place in the constructors' championship, it could result in nearly $100 million in prize money.
Currently, Haas is one of the few teams on the grid without a dedicated overnight team back at headquarters to thoroughly analyse data using a driver in a top-tier simulator.
"We have plans to set something like that up, but it has to be done step by step," Komatsu emphasised.
"If a department like that just makes more noise and in the end those at home and those at the track argue about who has the better ideas, nothing will be gained," he concluded. body check tags ::
