Despite Acknowledging Toyota’s Influence Ayao Komatsu Refuses to Move Haas’ Base From UK to Germany

After showing decent signs of progress in the first half of the 2024 season, Haas took a significant step forward by signing a technical partnership with Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR). Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu described the relationship as long-term, and rightfully so given the huge scope of technological and design advancements. However, he has no plans to shift the team’s base from the UK to Germany.

Switching Haas’ base to Germany will get them closer to TGR since they are based in Cologne.

“Not in the foreseeable future… At the moment at least, we are not changing our base in Maranello and our base in the UK,” the Japanese engineer told Christian Fittipaldi on the Pelas Pistas podcast.

Komatsu reiterated that for a team that is the smallest in F1, this partnership with a motorsport giant like Toyota is invaluable. The Japanese manufacturer will help Haas on several fronts, including aerodynamics and CFD. TGR will also provide expertise in the design and manufacturing of their cars.

To illustrate the relatively small scale of their operations, Komatsu mentioned that Haas’ staff strength is around 300, while the next highest staff count in the paddock is 1,000. In fact, top teams like Red Bull and Mercedes have over 1,200 to 1,300 people working for them.

So, the team is trying to punch above its weight. And Komatsu feels they need assistance from big manufacturers like Ferrari and Toyota as much as possible.

Toyota tying up with Haas tells me 2 things:

1. Japanese manufacturers feel responsible to represent Japan. Toyota badly wants Japanese drivers and engineers to get to #F1

2. A giant corporate manufacturer is tying up with a tiny F1 team for its engineering knowledge! Crazy! pic.twitter.com/xyGtnzDBJW

— Soumil Arora (@iamsoumilaroraa) October 11, 2024

It will take time for the Kannapolis-based outfit to utilize the systems and personnel at TGR’s Cologne facility to show any tangible gains on the track. Komatsu acknowledged that too, saying the impact of this partnership will not be visible in the short term.

In addition, Komatsu and Haas have to balance their existing partnership with Ferrari, who supply them with engines, gearboxes, suspensions, and hydraulics among other components.

With Haas’ partners operating from different parts of the world, they have one of the most complex structures, with bases in three countries.

Haas’ complex operations structure

Despite being a relatively small outfit, Haas has bases in the USA, UK, and Italy.

The team’s headquarters is in Kannapolis, USA. They have a satellite base in Banbury, UK, which helps them stay close to the European continent and all the F1 infrastructure.

Haas’ close ties with Ferrari have led to the development of a facility in the Italian outfit’s Maranello base. In addition to the car parts and engine, the American team uses Ferrari’s wind tunnel for testing.

The last piece in the complex Haas operations jigsaw is that they also take help from Italian manufacturer Dallara to build their cars.

Naturally, Komatsu does not want to complicate the already mixed-up arrangement by adding another base in Germany.

However, the Haas team principal seems willing to untangle the knot and start to homogenize their technical structure with one major partner. That will all depend on how their relationship with Toyota develops.