Guenther Steiner has left his position as Haas Formula 1 Team Principal, to be replaced by Engineering Director Ayo Komatsu.
Steiner has led the team since the American team entered Formula 1 in 2016. The Italian was the third-longest-serving team principal in Formula 1, behind Red Bull's Christian Horner and Mercedes' Toto Wolff, and a popular figure in the sport after taking on the starring role in the Netflix Driving to survive series.
Year-end report: Haas left searching for answers after finishing bottom of the pile in 2023
The team has enjoyed real highs under his leadership, including points on its Australian debut in 2016, a pole position in Brazil last year and a fifth-place finish in the Constructors' Championship in 2018.
However, last year was difficult for them. Haas finished last In the Constructors' Championship, they fell two places from the previous season, as they struggled to convert the one-lap pace of qualifying into points-scoring race pace on Sunday.
Haas endured a difficult 2023 season as they finished last in the Constructors' Championship
After discussions between Steiner and owner Gene Haas over the winter, it was decided that Steiner would leave the organization immediately.
His replacement, 47-year-old Komatsu, has worked with Haas since their Formula 1 debut in 2016, starting as chief race engineer and rising to engineering director.
He has more than 20 years' experience in Formula 1, having worked in engineering and management roles with British American Racing, as well as a long spell at Renault before joining Haas.
Haas says Komatsu will take charge of the team's overall strategy, and ultimately on-track performance, with the brief to maximize the team's potential through employee empowerment, process structure and efficiency.
With Komatsu focused on on-track performance, Haas plans to appoint a chief operating officer based in Europe who will look after all non-competition matters and departments, including areas such as human resources, administration, finance, marketing and communications.
Steiner was the third longest-serving team principal in Formula 1 behind Christian Horner and Toto Wolff
Owner Gene Haas said: “I would like to start by thanking Gunther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and wish him well for the future.
“Moving forward as an organization, it was clear that we needed to improve our performance on track. In appointing Ayao Komatsu to the position of Team Manager, we have fundamentally placed engineering at the heart of our management.
Read more: Oliver Biermann's whirlwind 2023 and a glimpse into Formula 1 life with Ferrari and Haas
“We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in achieving results that help us achieve our broader goals as an organization. We need to be efficient with the resources we have but improving our design and engineering capabilities is key to our success as a team.
“I'm looking forward to working with Iao and basically making sure we maximize our potential – this really reflects my desire to compete properly in Formula 1.”
Ayao Komatsu will succeed Steiner as Haas team principal
“I am naturally very excited to have the opportunity to be Team Principal at Haas,” said Komatsu. “Having been with the team since its debut in 2016, I am clearly passionately invested in its success in Formula 1. I look forward to leading our program and various competitive operations.” Internally to ensure we can build a structure that produces improved performance on track.
“We are a results-driven business at the end of the day and obviously we haven't been competitive enough recently which has been a source of frustration.
“We have amazing support from Gene and our various partners – especially MoneyGram, and we want to reflect their enthusiasm with an improved product down the track. We have a great team of people in Kannapolis, Banbury and Maranello, and I know together we can achieve the kind of offerings we are capable of.”
Read more: Magnussen says 'big winter' awaits Haas after boosting F1 constructors' standings in 2023
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