Exclusive | Komatsu: Gene Haas was unhappy, his brief was clear

If ever there were two different characters, outgoing, brash and boorish Steiner is the antithesis of quiet spoken, polite and dignified Komatsu who gave of his time to speak the GRANDPRIX247 about his new role as well as other Formula 1-related matters.

The first question was how different is it to be a F1 team principal on home soil, Japan? Komatsu replied: "It is the same but different. I have seen so many people in the pitlane. This year is another level. It is kind of a responsibility. It is a kind of responsibility. It gives the Japanese fans something to cheer for. The people are happy. It is good to see people happy. It gives you energy

"Race weekend pressure is kind of the same in a sense. You are so focused on performing. There is not much to waste. Now my weekends are a bit divided and I may be about engineering or commercial things. I have to switch my brain to different levels.

"I am positively surprised by how supportive everyone is. In terms of the race team, it is UK based and Italy where they design the car. I am UK-based. I have a lot of support from Italy. I am positively surprised and I enjoy working with people like this," admitted 48-year-old Komatsu.

In a preseason packed with mega-F1 news, Steiner's departure from the team just before testing shocked the paddock. It came as a huge surprise, as the Netflix overnight star was the face and mouth of the team. But was clear Gene Haas had tired of 'The Guenther Show' and thus promoted Komatsu to the role.

The Tokyo native shed light on the mandate he got from his American boss: "Gene's brief was clear. He was not happy with the performance of the team. It is pretty simple in a sense. At any race weekend, you want to perform every session, every lap counts.

"You cannot make a mistake. You have to think about how you want to improve and run the session. The pressure is more internal," explained Komatsu, sounding like a perfectionist before elaborating: "Each one has their personality and I was getting performance out of myself.

"Now I am focused on getting performances out of many different people. You have to know what they are good at. Every situation is different. You have to understand all this to build the strategy," ventured Komatsu.

With talk that Ferrari are seeking a seat to place Ollie Bearman on the F1 grid in 2025, it would mean either veteran Kevin Magnussen or Nico Hulkenberg would have to make way for the 18-year-old sensation.

Komatsu only has praise for his current pairing of Nico and K-Mag: "I'm focused on the team. You saw in Jeddah and Melbourne how they worked as teammates. They have been mega. Not only at the track but off track as well.

"Both of them have awareness and understanding of how to score points, I cannot ask for more. I am very happy with Nico and Kevin," insisted Komatsu.

But admitted that like most of the F1 world, he was impressed with Bearman's perfromance, standing in for hospitalised Carlos Saizn at Ferrari, for the Saudi Grand Prix. On Friday, the British teenager did FP1 in a Haas.

Komatsu said: "He was impressive. He handled it so well and did not make mistakes in Jeddah where it is easy to make them. It was clear to us that he had some special talent. He is amazing. We are looking for drivers like Ollie Bearman.

"He understands what is required from him. Of course, he is very excited to be driving FP1 for the first time. The whole package was impressive with good support from the family," said the Haas boss.

A final word on a proposed Tokyo Street Circuit to host a Grand Prix in his hometown in the future, Komatsu commented: "I like this [Suzuka] racing circuit. F1 is so quick with a lot of downforce. These are the circuits where you can show how amazing the cars are.

"At street races, you can't really show them how they should be. But that's my generation. If you ask a 25-year-old it is different. Austria, Spa, Suzuka, and Silverstone are amazing circuits where you can see how much performance and grip these cars have.

After Qualifying at Suzuka, his first home race as Haas F1 Team Principal, Komatsu reported: “Overall as a team it was a good qualifying session. We wanted to get into Q2, which we couldn’t quite manage with Kevin but even then, we made some set-up changes which he was very happy with.

"We gave ourselves the best chance by doing three runs but ultimately, he couldn’t get there. The changes were in a positive direction, so the race is looking better for Kevin. As for Nico, as usual, it was his Q1 run two and Q2 run two – he delivered excellent laps. We couldn’t ask for more than P12 today, and he also made some set-up changes too.

"All around, a good recovery from practice in difficult conditions with an exposing weakness at this track, but as a team I think we worked well," concluded Komatsu, who would love to leave Suzuka on Sunday with points in the bag.