(Motorsport-Total.com) – Although Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc secured the fastest time on the last day of testing in Bahrain, Mercedes is still considered the big favorite ahead of the opener in Australia. For Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu, however, this is by no means surprising – on the contrary.
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Because the team around Toto Wolff, which emerged from the Brawn GP racing team at the end of 2009 after previously taking over the Honda Formula 1 team, has relied on personnel and structural continuity for years. “The team has existed for many years, with different people,” Komatsu emphasizes.
And the Japanese knows exactly what he is talking about. “I was already there when it was still Honda, 23 years ago,” says the current Haas team principal, who took his first steps as a tire engineer at BAR in 2003. “Many of my colleagues from back then are still there. So they have been working together for 20 years.”
In his view, this is precisely where a decisive competitive advantage lies. “So they know each other very well and know how the other works. This means that you can probably also work together better. And besides, software, tools, infrastructure have evolved over decades through learning processes.”
At Mercedes “everything is probably better”
Especially at the beginning of a new regulatory era, in which not only the power unit but also the chassis changes fundamentally, this is an elementary plus point, the Japanese says. “The tools, the processes, the understanding, all of that might not be quantifiable. But it really affects everything.”
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“The models in the wind tunnel: quality, quantity, speed – everything is probably better,” says the Haas team principal, who is therefore not surprised by the strong performance of the Silver Arrows. “The same applies to CFD simulations.”
“Even with the same simulations, with the right understanding, processes, and procedures, you can achieve a significantly higher quality or a greater throughput, even in the same amount of time,” says the Haas team principal. “It’s simply about everything.”
“In Formula 1, to understand the complexity, you have to take everything into account,” says Komatsu. Against this background, Mercedes by and large has optimal conditions for success. “I don’t believe there is one single silver bullet.”