Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has admitted he’s concerned about the tyre compounds being used at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend.
After a very difficult 2023 season, Haas are already off the mark this year thanks to Nico Hulkenberg’s brilliant point in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to Corriere dello Sport, Ayao Komatsu has explained the team’s expectations in Melbourne in the coming days.
Komatsu discusses tyre compounds ahead of Australian Grand Prix
Haas will want to put last season behind them quickly and while they finished bottom of the Constructors’ Championship, they didn’t necessarily have the slowest car.
Nico Hulkenberg showed in qualifying that over one lap, the Haas wasn’t awful, but the car simply couldn’t do long runs.
The VF-23 used to chew through its tyres so quickly that Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen couldn’t drive at 100% throughout a race.
It appears as though some of those issues have been fixed over the winter despite Komatsu trying to temper expectations during pre-season.
Komatsu has now admitted that the tyre compounds chosen for the Australian Grand Prix might not benefit them.
As shared by Telemetrico, Melbourne is the only Grand Prix out of the first five this season where the softest C5 tyre will be used.
The harder compounds do seem to suit Haas better, so it may give their rivals a chance to claw back a point of their own at the weekend.
Haas have improved in 2024 but tyres are still an issue
Previewing Sunday’s race, Komatsu said: “After testing, we knew that we would be fighting for the last points with at least four other teams, for ninth and tenth position.
“In Jeddah, we maximized the team strategy, with Kevin [Magnussen] creating space for Nico [Hulkenberg]. Both drove without the slightest error and on the required times.
“In Melbourne, the load levels of Bahrain will return but it is a very different circuit, it is mixed compared to a Bahrain more focused on the effectiveness of traction.
“Tyre degradation will not be as low as in Jeddah nor as high as in Bahrain. Historically we have struggled with the softer compound, the C5, which will debut in Australia. It will be interesting.
“Another factor to keep an eye on will be graining, in the past we have suffered from it as the main aspect of our tyre degradation.
“It will be after the first four races that we will be able to draw better conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of the VF-24 and how we can manage them.”
Komatsu might once again be lowering expectations for the Australian Grand Prix by talking about the difficult tyre compounds.
It seems to be the preferred approach of the 48-year-old, although he’s incredibly animated on the pit wall.
He’s also been raving about youngster Oliver Bearman, and they are going to be working closely together in 2024 and potentially beyond…
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