‘I almost want to race for them again!’ – Grosjean ‘so proud’ of former engineer Komatsu amid early success as Haas team boss

Ex-Haas driver Romain Grosjean has heaped praise on Ayao Komatsu for his efforts in the Team Principal role so far, with the squad rising from the bottom of the 2023 constructors’ championship to a fight for P6 across the 2024 season.

Komatsu took over the position from Guenther Steiner during the winter break and, 21 races into his reign, the outfit hold seventh in the standings – just three points behind Alpine following the Anglo-French team’s shock double podium in Brazil last time out.

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Highlights of Komatsu’s tenure include a trio of double-points finishes, a series of effective car upgrades and a new deal to bring Japanese automotive giants Toyota back to F1 as part of a multi-year technical partnership with Haas.

Grosjean, who raced for Haas from their debut F1 season in 2016 through 2020, and was engineered by Komatsu at the team, believes his former colleague and long-time friend deserves all the plaudits he has been receiving.

“I’m so proud of Ayao and what he’s been doing with Haas, bringing the team back to a much better level – just making the most of it and working as he does,” current IndyCar and endurance racer Grosjean told F1.com.

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“I was lucky to know before the official announcement [that Komatsu would become Haas’s team boss]; I got a text from Ayao. I told him that I was very proud of him, very proud of everything he’s done, and very happy for him.

“Of course, I didn’t know how it was going to be turning out, but it’s fantastic. It almost makes me feel like I want to race for them again!”

Asked if he always saw Komatsu as more than an engineer, and with the potential to become an F1 team boss, Grosjean added: “No, you never know. It’s a different role, it’s a different approach, there’s also a bit of political games and media.

“I had no idea about that part. I knew he could set everything up [to succeed], but that part was the unknown, and he’s been doing really, really well.”

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Speaking recently to F1 TV, Komatsu explained that the biggest changes he has made at Haas this year relate to “the culture, communication and togetherness”, and ensuring that the organisation “works as a team”.