Axed Haas F1 chief set for new role already - days after Guenther Steiner exit

12 January 2024 , 16:03

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Axed Haas F1 chief set for new role already - days after Guenther Steiner exit

Former Haas technical director Simone Resta is set to return to Ferrari, according to reports.

Resta left his post after the end of the 2023 season after three years in the role. His departure was rumoured but wholly overshadowed this week by news that team principal Guenther Steiner had also left after 10 years in charge.

He joined in 2021 as technical director, though this was a loan-style arrangement with the team's partners Ferrari. Resta was chief designer with the Italian team for five years but has spent recent times on external assignments.

The 53-year-old engineer had a spell leading the technical part with the Alfa Romeo team now branded as Stake F1. He joined Haas three years ago but left at the end of last season when his contract expired.

The official F1 website reports the Italian is set to return to Ferrari. However, it is currently unknown what role he will fill going forward - though it is not expected to be with the Scuderia F1 team.

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"Sources say Resta does not yet have a defined role at the Scuderia, who also operate a sportscar programme and automotive business out of their Maranello headquarters," the report claims.

His replacement has not yet been found. And it is not the only important vacancy currently going at Haas, as the team is also looking for a chief operating officer to oversee the non-racing aspects of running the team.

The American outfit does, though, already have a new team principal in place. As the same time as Steiner's exit was announced, it was made public that director of engineering Ayao Komatsu had been promoted to replace him.

The 47-year-old Japanese studied at Loughborough University before entering the F1 world with British American Racing in 2003. He has been a regular in the paddock ever since, later joining Renault before switching to Haas in 2016 when Romain Grosjean was hired to drive for the newly-created team.

Owner Gene Haas explained Komatsu's promotion came about from a desire to focus on car-building. He said: "Moving forward as an organization it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances. In appointing Ayao Komatsu as team principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management."

Daniel Moxon