"Just put the team up for sale and leave the sport": Fans react to Haas team principal's comments about the team's 2024 F1 challenger

F1 fans were left frustrated after Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu stated that the 2024 season would be challenging for the team as they did not have the time to develop the car.

The only American team on the grid went for a change of leadership ahead of the season, replacing the popular Guenther Steiner with the more technical Ayao Komatsu in the hopes of progressing further up the field next year.

In his first interview as Haas team principal, Ayao Komatsu confirmed that the 2024 car will be a step up but maintained it will be difficult for the team to be competitive against their rivals. He said (via F1.com):

“The ’24 is a clear step, but whether it’s good enough against the competition to start off with? I don’t think so. We changed the concept so late as well, and then by doing the Austin upgrade, we diverted our resources a little bit.

“I’m realistic with the car we’re putting out in Bahrain, but not in a negative manner. It’s not the fault of our engineers, our guys.”

F1 fans took to social media to react to these comments, with one fan advising the team to sell to Andretti in the future. They wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"What a shock... just put the team up for sale and leave the sport. Andretti fighting for their lives to get into the sport, yet Haas just takes up a spot and stinks it up..."

Here are some more reactions:

Haas team principal speaks about the learnings from the 2023 season

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu also stated that the team had learned a lot from the shortcomings of the 2023 season, but admitted that they had not understood the entire package.

The Japanese further claimed that they could only work and develop the things that they had already understood. He said:

“I don't think we understand everything. [But] I think we understand a significant part of it. But then again, the only proof is if we can produce a car that can deal with that problem.

"So I don't like to sit here and say that we understand it 100%. We have a decent idea why and where we need to focus on.”