{"id":75576,"date":"2024-08-08T14:00:13","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T14:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racer.com\/?p=363493"},"modified":"2024-08-08T14:00:13","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T14:00:13","slug":"the-unsung-hero-behind-the-haas-f1-resurgence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/the-unsung-hero-behind-the-haas-f1-resurgence\/","title":{"rendered":"The unsung hero behind the Haas F1 resurgence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Back in January, the Haas Formula 1 team appeared to be reeling. Guenther Steiner\u2019s removal as team principal was a major shock, and it was swiftly followed by confirmation that technical director Simone Resta had also departed.<\/p>\n

Less than two months before the start of the new season, Haas was set for new management both on the overall team side but also the technical department that juggles the Ferrari partnership with Dallara manufacturing.<\/p>\n

It was hardly a surprise to hear Steiner\u2019s replacement Ayao Komatsu setting extremely low expectations of where the team would be at the start of the year. 2023 had ended with Haas unable to overcome high tire wear and poor race pace, often seeing strong qualifying performances followed by an inevitable and frustrating slide to the back of the field. So, heading into the new campaign, Komatsu said: \u201cOut of the gates in Bahrain, I still think we\u2019re going to be towards the back of the grid, if not last.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was something else that Komatsu wanted to highlight, though, and it was the person tasked with moving the team forward from a car development point of view.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur new technical director is Andrea De Zordo,\u201d Komatsu noted. \u201cHe was the chief designer previously and is a very technical person. His communication is good, he\u2019s very engaged and he listens to people, so I\u2019m very happy about that appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Zordo had worked closely with Resta in the past but was also someone who had experience of what went wrong with Haas\u2019 major upgrade at Circuit of The Americas last year that set the team back both in the short-term as well as in its development of its 2024 car. In many ways, he couldn\u2019t lose. Haas had finished bottom of the constructors\u2019 championship with the slowest car in races, so the only way was up.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course it was a fresh start, because a lot of things changed — the organization, the way of working — so there was a certain change all in one go, not like it was planned out before,\u201d De Zordo tells RACER.\u00a0\u201cYou have to adapt to that alongside a new job for me and Ayao, and so it was a very demanding time. But the thing is I had a good relationship with Ayao before and I have a good relationship with him now. We work together I think quite well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The working relationship with Komatsu was something De Zordo needed to have faith in, as he admits he had some trepidation about taking on the technical director role for the first time. From the outside, a promotion might always look like a positive step, but the reality is it comes with added responsibility and fresh unknowns that can be daunting when you are happy in your existing role.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span> A strong working relationship with Komatsu helped De Zordo (at right) get off to a fast start in his new role. Andy Hone\/Motorsport Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was something completely not expected. The day they asked me to take on the role, I woke up in the morning and I didn\u2019t even think of that,” he admits. “It was a very, very big surprise. Of course I was scared initially — very scared — because it was a big jump. So I thought carefully about that; I was not sure at the beginning, and then I accepted the proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first month was very, very busy. You really feel the pressure in your stomach. You wake up each morning and you say, \u2018I hope to be able to do it.\u2019 And then day after day you realize that you can<\/em> do it and you get used to it. You feel more comfortable, and now I\u2019m quite happy with the role. I like it. I feel the pressure — it\u2019s very, very difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I\u2019m not the best person to say if I\u2019m doing a good job or not, but I am pushing as hard as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

While credit needs to go to Resta and the rest of the technical group for the work done up to the point that De Zordo was promoted, the on-track performances would certainly suggest he\u2019s doing more than a good job. The Italian has overseen an upgrade package that had a clear impact at the British Grand Prix — the second consecutive race Haas secured a top-six finish — but he says the impact of last year\u2019s struggles should not be underestimated as the team was able to identify the direction it should be working in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a lot of work for the race performance. I think to see that this year we are even faster in races than we are in qualifying is quite satisfying,\u201d De Zordo says. “It means we are working in the right direction \u2026 We are consistently in the battle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a contribution of a few factors, and if you miss one of these then it doesn\u2019t work, even if the rest is good. Last year we lost a lot in key areas, and when we looked at that, we started to regroup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a lot of work over the winter to improve in all the areas we know we have to improve and finally it works — if you go trackside it works — and also the way we work changed. So it\u2019s not only hardware or drivers, it\u2019s also approach. We understand a lot more, and even now it\u2019s a lot more clear what we have to do to go faster and move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to attack everywhere. Of course with this regulation the floor is the main thing, and how the floor interacts with the rest of the car. So the main focus is on that, but there are also a lot of details in the car that we are not completely happy with and we know we can improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it\u2019s not a big thing, but a detail here and a detail there, maybe you don\u2019t see it in the wind tunnel but you know if it\u2019s not right then it can cost you effort and performance. So we try to put our attention everywhere — big packages but also small details.\u201d<\/p>\n

The change in leadership at the start of this year was followed by further focus on the intentions of Gene Haas and his commitment to Formula 1, that were soon shown to be as serious as ever. Extra backing followed for Komatsu as he began to show that the investment was being well spent, and De Zordo is in a similar position.<\/p>\n

A list of areas that the car development team would like to see an increase in resources for is being put together, because the technical director is aware that the current competitive picture could look very different in just a few months\u2019 time given the potential of the others on the grid.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me the target must be to improve. It must<\/em> be,” De Zordo says. “I think there are a couple of teams this year that are underperforming, and it means if we want to keep up the pace next year we must improve and not consider that someone else will maybe not improve. So for me the target must be to be at the top of the midfield. To do that, we still need to make a step.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span> The tightening of F1\u2019s midfield has benefited Haas, but De Zordo knows the team will have to fight to keep its upward trajectory going. Steven Tee\/Motorsport Images<\/p>\n

Like all of those in charge of car projects, next year is fighting for attention amid the looming opportunities that exist when the 2026 regulations come into effect. Haas has a recent track record of strong starts to new rules cycles, and De Zordo has a clear goal in mind for his first set of new regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve thought about it a few times myself, that every change of regulations we did well,” he says. “I think the best results of the last three years have been the first race of the new regulations. But I don\u2019t want to count on that. We know that it\u2019s very difficult, and for a team such as us, with smaller resources, it\u2019s even more difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we approach the next challenge, the next generation of car, we must spend the time understanding what the rules are asking, what the possibilities are. Because with these regulations we are doing well, but at the same time I realize that someone else did better.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy personal opinion is that one of the big advantages for Red Bull is taking the right path from the beginning, and keeping developing in the right path. All the other teams at some stage had to change direction, to lose performance and regain it, and catch up.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo to start from the beginning, choosing the right path is fundamental. Even if you have to spend some more time on it, even if you get to the first race not as well prepared as you were in the past but being on the right path, then the performance will come eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the trajectory of 2024 is anything to go by, there\u2019s no reason to believe De Zordo isn\u2019t the person to guide Haas onto that path over the next few years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back in January, the Haas Formula 1 team appeared to be reeling. Guenther Steiner\u2019s removal as team principal was a major shock, and it was swiftly followed by confirmation that technical director Simone Resta had also departed. Less than two months before the start of the new season, Haas was set for new management both …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","has-thumb","has-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75576"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}