Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu expresses his concerns about the number of employees at Haas. The American team has the fewest employees of all Formula 1 teams, and according to the Japanese executive, this is not sustainable in the long run. “We can’t let people burn out,” acknowledges Komatsu.
Haas recently expanded its workforce to about 330 employees, but it’s still not enough. For instance, midfield team Williams, which finished lower than Haas in the constructors’ championship in 2024, has more than a thousand employees. According to team boss Ayao Komatsu, it is crucial that Haas expands further as soon as possible.
“330 people, that’s nothing,” Komatsu tells RACER. “What’s great about this team is that we ask a lot of everyone. People are doing one, two, or three jobs. But I feel bad about that, I can’t have that as a basis, it’s not sustainable.” The Japanese executive believes that Haas’ current structure could lead employees to burn out. “We can’t let people collapse. We need to increase resources.”
‘Gene was happy’
Despite Haas being the smallest team on the Formula 1 grid, the American racing team made a significant leap forward between the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Haas moved up from tenth place in the constructors’ championship to seventh in just one year, much to the delight of owner Gene Haas. “Gene was very happy. Honestly, I thought he would be dissatisfied that we couldn’t achieve P6,” reveals Komatsu.
But the opposite was true: the Haas owner immediately sent the team boss a message after the race in Abu Dhabi to congratulate the entire team. “So that was very nice to hear. I called him and he immediately said ‘Congratulations, it’s a great achievement’, which you honestly don’t often hear from Gene! But of course, he is very competitive,” concludes Komatsu.
