F1’s surprise overachievers hail cause for unexpected team turnaround

Haas finished bottom of the constructors’ championship last season, but currently sit unexpectedly in seventh.

They are the surprise package of the F1 season so far, and remain a team evolving into a new era.

Guenther Steiner left his job as team principal in the wake of Haas’ disappointing 2023, and cited a lack of investment from team owner Gene Haas.

But Steiner’s replacement Ayao Komatsu, formerly the team’s trackside engineering director, has fared much better.

“27 points is great – it’s more than double what we ever had last year,” Komatsu said.

“But more than that, I think it’s very encouraging seeing how we are working together as a team.

“That wasn’t the case up until the end of last year, so for me that’s the biggest positive and for sure, that’s a good sign that we are going in the right direction.

“From day one, I was convinced we’ve got plenty of good people, amazing people, so it’s a matter of putting that together and giving those people an environment that they can perform in.

"Everyone, it doesn’t matter who you are – IT person, software person, race engineer, driver, or finance person – everybody needs to understand what you’re doing and how it will contribute to the performance on the track.

“Once you start building that and getting the message through, once everyone knows how they’re contributing, then that promotes teamwork as well.

“There’s no blame culture; when something isn’t working, we’ve got to get to the bottom of it, but it’s not a witch hunt.

“Making that safe space for everyone where they can move forward is the key.”

Haas have been aided by some inspired drives from Nico Hulkenberg.

He has scored points on five occasions and sits impressively 11th in the drivers’ championship.

But both Hulkenberg and teammate Kevin Magnussen will move on in 2025 as Haas evolves further.

Hulkenberg chose to go to Sauber, to spearhead the Audi project, while Haas confirmed they won’t renew Magnussen’s stay.

British teenager Ollie Bearman - who impressed racing for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia as a deputy for the unwell Carlos Sainz - will represent Haas full-time next season.

Haas have also recruited Alpine’s Esteban Ocon for next season.