Haas makes “huge” changes to F1 team personnel ahead of new season

Haas has considerably altered its System 1 race crew workers forward of the 2025 season, with modifications in driver engineers, technique and sporting operations personnel alongside its two new drivers.

Staff principal Ayao Komatsu stated the alterations represented a “large change” for Haas, as he briefed the F1 press corps forward of the brand new season.

Topping the invoice of the modifications to the American crew’s racing construction are the 2 race engineers that Komatsu has promoted from their earlier roles as efficiency engineers at Haas.

These are Laura Mueller, who might be Ocon’s race engineer, and Ronan O’Hare, who will work with Bearman.

Mueller has labored for Haas since becoming a member of the crew in her first F1 position as a simulator engineer, whereas O’Hare has labored as a efficiency engineer for Williams and the NIO System E crew (now Cupra Kiro), in addition to holding different engineering roles for Racing Bulls and Mercedes.

Haas has additionally employed its first head of race technique – Carine Cridelich, who will be a part of the crew on 1 March from her present put up on the RB squad.

Ex-Toyota, Sauber and Marussia engineer Francesco Nenci joined Haas this month as chief race engineer, which was Komatsu’s position earlier than he changed Guenther Steiner as crew principal this time a yr in the past.

Mark Lowe has been appointed as Haas’s first sporting director, with earlier crew supervisor Peter Crolla having left the squad just lately.

“Our technical crew – the factory-based technical crew – has been actually steady,” Komatsu instructed choose media, together with Autosport, in an interview on Monday.

This a part of the crew stays unchanged, with Andrea De Zordo, Tom Coupland and Jonathan Heal remaining of their respective posts as technical director and chief and deputy designer.

“What’s been modified is the trackside crew,” Komatsu continued. “It’s an enormous change, however I felt that was one of many weakest areas final yr.

“The increasingly more the automotive turned aggressive, that uncovered it extra.

“We left too many factors on the desk from the trackside operations. So, we actually wanted to step up on that one.”

Komatsu stated examples of Haas dropping factors in 2024 – together with the season opener in Bahrain, the place ex-driver Kevin Magnussen misplaced a possible factors end getting undercut on the first stops by then Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu – led him to enact the modifications revealed this week.

The crew was heading in the right direction to complete sixth within the 2024 constructors’ championship having been tenth and final the yr earlier than, however was pipped by Alpine by simply seven factors.

Ayao Komatsu, Staff Principal, Haas F1 Staff

Photograph by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Photos

“Simply so many occasions underneath strain we didn’t appear to operate in addition to we must always,” Komatsu added.

“However, once more, it’s not simply in regards to the folks however when it comes to the quantity of coaching we can provide and so on.”

On this, Haas has simply accomplished its first Testing of Earlier Automobiles (TPC) working, with a session in Jerez final weekend attended by Ocon and Bearman, plus Toyota driver Ritomo Miyata.

Komatsu stated this was “so essential” for coaching its new and remaining trackside workers, as earlier than “we have been only a race crew”.

He added: “However now we have now these [private test in cars at least two years old], and likewise capabilities to simulate sure eventualities now.

“We now have much more of that earlier than the season begins. We might be higher ready”.

When requested by Autosport if Haas had additionally assessed exterior candidates to put in as race engineers rather than Gary Gannon – now working at Aston Martin – and Mark Slade, who additionally left Haas on the finish of 2024, Komatsu confirmed it had earlier than deciding on a coverage of selling from inside.

“It’s simply professionals and cons,” he stated. “As a result of exterior folks have gotten lengthy discover durations as effectively.

Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Staff, on the grid with Gary Gannon, Race Engineer, Haas F1 Staff

Photograph by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Photos

“It’s simply every thing. If there’s any individual the place it’s like, ‘wow, this man is an ideal match and we must always look ahead to 12 months or no matter’ then it’s high-quality.

“But it surely needed to be clearly higher than both Laura or Ronan. As a result of if the exterior candidate I can see professionals and cons, okay they’ve much less expertise however when it comes to potential if I feel in a yr’s time they are often nearly the identical and even higher, then I’d fairly make investments internally.”

Haas can be set to current crew proprietor Gene Haas with a proposal for modifications to its Banbury base – which Autosport understands might embrace shifting to a brand new website altogether – on the finish of January.