Former director of engineering Komatsu stepped up to his new role last week after team owner Gene Haas opted to axe Steiner, informing the Italian during a phone call between Christmas and New Year that his contract would not be renewed.
After finishing at the bottom of the constructors’ standings last season, Haas opted for Komatsu in a bid to make his team technical-focused, steering away from what he saw as Steiner’s more “human-type approach to everything”.
Steiner was undoubtedly a larger-than-life character, enhanced by the unintended development of a cult following due to his outspoken appearances on the Netflix reality show ‘Drive to Survive’.
Komatsu insists he is very different, and will endeavour to lead the team his way, rather than as a direct follow-on from Steiner’s 10-year reign.
“Of course, I’m not trying to be Guenther Steiner,” said Komatsu, speaking to a small group of select media. “He’s a very different person.
“Honestly, we got on, really, really well. We respect each other, we respect each other’s positions and job roles during work and off work as well.
“We used to go to dinner quite a lot as well over a race weekend, not to talk about work but because we got on pretty well.
“But I’m not here to replace Guenther Steiner as a character. He’s a very different character, as you know, and he has very different strengths and weaknesses from me.
“I’m not trying to be someone else and Gene knows that. If Gene wanted a Guenther Steiner replacement in that way, he would have appointed somebody else.
“So I understand that Gene wants something different, and I will try to be the best version of myself rather than trying to be somebody else.”
Komatsu has made clear to Haas that he intends to focus on his own skillset rather than attempting to add other strings to the bow of a team principal which some of his peers have been adept at doing over the years.
The 47-year-old Japanese feels it is not worth attempting to be something he is not, although concedes the soon-to-be-appointed chief operating officer is required.
“When I was given this opportunity I made it clear to Gene, ‘You know my expertise. There’s no point in me trying to focus on the marketing side and trying to get sponsorship because that’s not where my skillset is’,” said Komatsu.
“I need someone else who is an expert in that area to run it, then I can focus on the technical side, trying to get an organisation where we can improve the technical side of the team.
“Of course, this team means a lot to me because I have been here since day one. I know the potential this team has.
“So in certain areas, I can see ‘Oh, maybe you can look at doing things differently’ etcetera. In that sense, we’re not short of ideas. There are plenty of areas that we can take a look at to improve the team.”
Whilst Komatsu concedes that “not having a COO at this minute is not slowing us down”, he added: “But if you are looking at going forward, we clearly need one and this person needs to be running that area coherently.
“But it’s better to get the correct person than rush it and then settle for something you are not so sure about.”
On track, Komatsu has confirmed the team’s new car, the VF-24, will undergo two shakedowns, initially breaking cover at Silverstone on February 11 before running again in Bahrain on February 19, two days before the start of the sole test at the Sakhir International Circuit on February 21-23.
It is likely Haas will unveil its new livery before the Silverstone shakedown.
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