“That Was Really Weird From Haas”: How Ayao Komatsu Missed an Opportunity While Hiding Pace in Pre-Season Testing

Pre-season testing is one of the most exciting times of the year. Drivers, teams, and fans get a feel and look at the cars ahead of a new campaign, giving an idea of what to expect. At the same time, its results are never definitive, with most teams opting to hide true performance.

In 2025, Haas went a bit too extreme with that approach.

The Kannapolis-based outfit, under Ayao Komatsu, was expected to make major strides this season. Pre-season, however, turned out to be a rather quiet affair for them with the biggest highlight being the flying piece of chassis that came out of rookie Oliver Bearman’s car.

Journalist Ian Parkes, who expected Haas to boast their improvements in Bahrain, was baffled by Komatsu’s decision to not test the car to the fullest. Yes, all teams sandbag (hide true pace). But not doing it even once? That was weird.

“That was really weird from Haas,” Parkes said on the Racing News 365 podcast. “They’re not obliged to go for a fast lap, but at least give yourselves an indication as to where that car is…” 

That is not to say that Komatsu’s team was complacent. They completed 457 laps — second most behind Mercedes’ 458 — which indicated a good level of reliability at the very least. But in terms of pace, spectators, at least, are in the dark.

The fact that Haas did not go for any push laps means that their qualifying potential, in particular, remains unclear. “Ayao Komatsu was playing it down to a certain extent when we chatted to him at the end of,” Parkes added.

Sam Coop, another reputed F1 journalist, then pointed out how Haas focused a lot on long-runs in 2024 because of their problems with tire degradation the year before. It’s likely something they are still working on to improve. “I think it is strange that they didn’t progress from that this year…” 

Why else would Haas not push?

Of course, if tire degradation is still a concern for Komatsu and Haas’ technical minds, they would prioritize their long-runs to get as much data as possible. However, there could be other reasons too.

Firstly, the American team might already be confident in their one-lap pace, meaning they would focus on improving areas where they are less certain. It’s also possible that their qualifying simulation data is off the mark, but they aim to compensate with a strong race pace.

Plus, what happened with Bearman’s chassis might have led them to adopt a more conservative approach. After all, the young Briton’s engine cover flew off during a practice run—an issue they would hardly want to see repeated at any point during testing.

Strangely enough, a Haas chassis had also lost its bodywork during a shakedown at Silverstone a week before hitting the track in Bahrain. That time, it was Esteban Ocon’s VF-25, with its sidepod cover.

Regardless of the issue, Haas would look well prepared for it. They have a week to sort their problems out after which the real action begins — with the 2025 Australian GP in Melbourne from 14th – 16th March.