“So the car can keep its tires for two race laps now?” - Fans react to Haas team principal’s recent comments about their 2024 F1 car

F1 fans were left perplexed by Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu's comments regarding the 2024 challenger.

The American team has gone through a leadership change, with Komatsu replacing Guenther Steiner as the team boss. The Japanese, who was previously the trackside engineering director, was less than optimistic about the 2024 car but confirmed that it was a 'step up' from its predecessor.

Speaking with F1.com, the Haas team boss discussed the new car and accepted that it wouldn't be as competitive as the team had hoped due to starting late on the project. He said:

“The ’24 car is a clear step, but whether it’s good enough against the competition to start off with, I don’t think so because we started so late. For me, then the key is whatever the car in Bahrain, whatever problem we see, we try to understand it and then move from that point as a team. We are a small team as you know."

He continued:

"We’ve got to move as one, otherwise we don’t stand a chance. To answer your question directly, it is a step forward. Is it good enough? No. But what we do from that point is how we can show that we can improve the team or not.”

F1 fans took to social media to react to the Haas team boss's comments, with one fan sarcastically claiming that the tires might last two laps in the 2024 challenger owing to their tire troubles last season.

"So, the car can keep its tires for two race laps now?" the fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Here are a few more reactions:

Haas team boss recently spoke about the learnings from the 2023 campaign

Ayao Komatsu stated that the team hadn't learned all they needed from last season's car but understood a 'significant' part of its problems. He claimed that the team had an idea of where to focus and develop the car heading into the 2024 season.

Komatsu 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.”

The Haas team boss's comments are unlikely to leave fans optimistic heading into a new season with new leadership. It will be interesting to see where Haas finishes at the end of the year.