Haas faced a recurring bodywork issue in testing, but team boss Ayao Komatsu remains confident it’s resolved ahead of the Melbourne opener.
Haas F1 experienced an issue twice during winter testing. The VF-25 saw its engine cover detach on two occasions, and team principal Ayao Komatsu revealed that an overly aggressive aerodynamic approach was the cause.
“We were just too aggressive, we know why,” said Komatsu, who is not concerned about it happening again. “So we will fix the problem for Melbourne. But obviously, it’s not great.”
“It happened on the filming day, and again one morning in Sakhir. That shouldn’t happen. The change we made compared to last year was simply too aggressive.”
The Japanese engineer is pleased with Haas’ overall winter testing, despite the bodywork issue costing the team time: “The first two days were quite good. But the third wasn’t great, with the morning problem.”
“Honestly, this bodywork issue had a significant impact on Ollie’s running. Because of it, I’d say that for 75% of the morning, the car wasn’t in a representative state. No matter what we did, it wasn’t the right car. So that wasn’t ideal.”
“We managed to correct it for the afternoon, so all the work Esteban did later on was representative. But losing one session out of six is huge. It happened, we just need to fix it for Australia, and I have full confidence in that.”
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Komatsu Unfazed as Haas Fixes Bodywork Flaw for Melbourne Komatsu Unfazed as Haas Fixes Bodywork Flaw for Melbourne