MoneyGram Haas F1 Team has appointed Ayao Komatsu as its new Team Principal with Guenther Steiner departing the organization with immediate effect, having led its operations for the past decade.
Komatsu, promoted from his role as Director of Engineering, has been with the team since its debut season in 2016 – starting as Chief Race Engineer.
An overdue change imho. I wouldn’t have expected Ayao to be picked but he seems knowledgeable in his field and well liked from what I’ve read about him. I hope he finds as much success transitioning to the TP role as Andrea Stella and James Vowles have.
I read Steiners book, a good read if anyone has access to it and very insightful. I really hope to see him at either Alpine or Sauber as he is such a unique character but can’t help feel that Haas didn’t want to spend the money to really move the team forward.
Weird timing, being close to the new season. Not sure if it’s been planned for a while but if not, can’t see the new team principal changing anything in time for at least the first half of the year.