Ayao Komatsu talks about the situation with Haas on the financial front where for the first time the F1 team doesn’t need its owner to put money in.
Even though Haas remains one of the smallest F1 teams on the grid, there is some joy for the American outfit in the Cost Cap era. Team principal Komatsu revealed about the financial situation of the team ahead of the 2025 season, which looks to be in a good shape than before.
For years, founder Gene Haas has had to put his own money in running the F1 team but not anymore. The Cost Cap situation coupled with its finishing position and securing good amount of sponsorship/partnership, Komatsu states that Gene will not have to put his own money.
They secured a large partnership with Toyota last year and their title sponsorship with MoneyGram has put them in a good place to fulfil the Cost Cap requirement, even though they are still short on the benchmark set by the FIA.”This year is the first time that, as a company, Gene doesn’t have to put his own money in,” said Komatsu to media including F1 website.
“We haven’t been hitting the budget cap, [but] we are hitting it this year. So, we have a different challenge of making sure we stay within the budget cap. It’s great that we finally got here, but in terms of mindset, it’s the same thing like trackside engineering. We really had to change the mindset of everyone, what is acceptable and what we have to strive for.
“It’s the same with this budget thing. Before when we were under the budget cap, if we had money, we could spend it without worrying about it. Now we have to make sure we stay within the budget cap. So it’s a whole different mindset. But if you want to be competitive, that’s minimum where you should be. So, finally, it feels like we’re ticking many boxes – start doing TPC, be on the budget cap and being profitable.
“With the prize money from last year, sponsorship money etc, this year, Gene shouldn’t have to put his money in. It’s the first time,” summed up Komatsu, who is eyeing further success in 2025 after a refreshing run in 2024 when he took charge from Guenther Steiner. The team will have a new line-up of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, and wishes to be at the top of the midfield.
“There are still so many things we need to do,” said Komatsu. “We finished P7 [in 2024]. Yes, the target is P6 [in 2025], but we haven’t achieved that consistent result [from one year to the next], so even fighting for the same position, P6/P7, would be a huge achievement.”
In the build-up to the livery launch on February 18, Haas held a filming day at Silverstone on Sunday with Ocon potentially in the 2025 car in the new revised livery. The team hasn’t shared anything online other than the new race suits, but there has been leaks already.
Here’s stories showcasing 2025 Haas car and potentially the livery too: https://www.instagram.com/stories/camhardy_photo/3569187467810625200/
Here’s more: https://x.com/FOneRacingg/status/1891079469143572983
Here’s Esteban Ocon cameo in movie
Here’s seat fit of Esteban Ocon
Here’s Haas noting of its personnel
Here’s Haas undertaking first TPC run
Here’s Ayao Komatsu on Esteban Ocon’s motivation
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