Ayao Komatsu

Ayao Komatsu is a Japanese Formula 1 engineer and the Team Principal of the Haas F1 Team, which is competing in the 2024 Formula One World Championship.

Ayao Komatsu was born in Tokyo, Japan, on January 28, 1976. In 1995, Komatsu moved to the United Kingdom to study Automotive Engineering at Loughborough University. He earned a Bachelor's degree and later a PhD in Vehicle Dynamics and Control.

Komatsu began his career in F1 in 2003 in the position of a tire engineer at British American Racing. In 2006, he moved to Renault to work as a performance engineer.

Firstly, he worked with the test team but was later promoted to the race team, where he worked with drivers such as Nelson Piquet Jr., Romain Grosjean, and Vitaly Petrov.

During the collaboration with Romain Grosjean, Komatsu formed a great relationship with the French driver. When Grosjean made the decision to join the newly formed Haas F1 team in 2016, Komatsu followed him.

In Haas, Komatsu closely worked with the previous team principal, Guenther Steiner, in his role of trackside engineering director. After the end of the unsuccessful 2023 season, the owner of the team, Gene Haas, decided it was time to replace Steiner.

Following the trend set by multiple rivals (McLaren and Aston Martin, for example) who had just successfully promoted engineers from within their teams to positions of team principals, Gene Haas decided he wanted to give Ayao Komatsu a chance.

The reason for this decision was that the owner believed the team needed someone with technical knowledge in the leading position to steer it in the right direction.

Ayao Komatsu took over one of the most challenging roles in the paddock. He became a team principal of the team that finished last in the Championship during the previous season, was behind on development, and had a lower budget than its rivals.

He aims to turn everything around and lift the American team from the bottom of the championship to the top of the midfield in upcoming seasons.