In the round-up: Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu says he had to overcome an entrenched view they were wasting their time by trying to introduce car upgrades during the season after taking charge earlier this year.
In brief
Haas lacked faith in upgrades – Komatsu
Komatsu, who replaced Guenther Steiner as Haas team principal at the beginning of the year, said the team lacked faith in its ability to improve their car by upgrading it during the season.
“One of the main issues we had in previous years was that Haas was not able to develop the car in-season,” he told The Fast and the Curious. “We weren’t able to put upgrades on the car that works.
“And then there were certain people saying previously that, well, an upgrade is a waste of time, it never works, we shouldn’t do it. But to me it’s the opposite. When the upgrade doesn’t work, you’ve got to really find out why your upgrade doesn’t work. It’s got to work.”
Teams can’t expect to progress in F1 if they don’t upgrade their cars during the year, said Komatsu. “To be competitive in Formula 1 you have to be able to develop the car in-season, there’s no doubt. And then if it wasn’t working, you’ve got to get to the bottom of why it didn’t work.”
He said the team has been able to address the problem by restructuring its technical division. “The two drivers are the ones telling you what the issues of the car is. So really you’ve got to understand that, then you’ve got to communicate that well to the guys back home.
“In our case, the guys in Italy, who’s basically designing the car, designers and aerodynamicists. So that closed loop communication working together was the key. So that required a change of structures and moving certain people who I believed weren’t in the right roles and then put the right people in the right place, having a structure that promotes that closed loop communication.”
EU not looking into Andretti case
While the American Department of Justice continues its investigation into why the US-owned Formula 1 series refused to allow the American Andretti team to enter, the European Union says it “cannot assess whether such barriers to entry are the result of anti-competitive conduct in breach of Article 101 and/or Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.”
“As such, the Commission is currently not considering any measures, nor is it planning to investigate the impact of the alleged barriers on innovation, jobs and the competitiveness of the motor sport and automotive sector in the EU,” said executive vice-president Margarethe Vestager in a statement. “However, the Commission stands ready to review any evidence of anticompetitive conduct that interested parties may bring to its attention.”
Ferrari and Red Bull sponsors accused of ‘greenwashing’
Exxonmobil and Shell, sponsors of Red Bull and Ferrari respectively, have been accused of greenwashing by promoting a campaign to clean up plastic waste which accounts for a tiny fraction of their annual production. The two companies, along with TotalEnergies, ChevronPhillips and Dow, launched the Alliance to End Plastic Waste in 2019.
An investigation by Greenpeace found they cleaned up around 1,000 metric tonnes of plastic, a total dwarfed by the 131.8 million tonnes they created. The group abandoned its original target of 15 million tonnes last year, stating it “was just too ambitious.”
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Links
Nasr puts Penske on top at Thermal IndyCar test (Racer)
‘Former Williams F1 driver Logan Sargeant, who was making his IndyCar testing debut, ended the morning in second, led the middle session, and was third in the final outing when the best times were set.’
EU to decide on F1 owner Liberty Media’s MotoGP deal by December 19th (Reuters)
‘The deal also requires antitrust clearance in the UK, Brazil and Australia, and Foreign Direct Investment filings in Spain and Italy.’
Las Vegas Strip-area businesses continue to bemoan F1’s costly effects (Las Vegas Sun)
‘Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, a spokesperson for several of those businesses, calls the effects from the race — now in its second year — ‘intolerable for the business owners.’ Four businesses have taken legal action over lost revenue against Formula One, which is contracted to host the race for 10 years.’
The Gran Turismo 7 November Update: Five new cars and Rotiform! (Gran Turismo)
The 1955 Mercedes W196 R Formula 1 car has been added in the latest update to Gran Turismo 7.
De Vries handed surprise drive with F1 team after brutal Red Bull exit (The Mirror)
‘Why De Vries took part in the testing session at the weekend is not clear. It may be the case, though, that it was originally intended for Gabriel Bortoleto who recently left the McLaren stable to sign up to race in F1 for Sauber next year, and that the arrangements had already been made so they simply switched drivers at short notice.’
Apple Vision Pro F1 spatial viewer Lapz forced to pause TestFlight (Upload)
‘Apple Vision Pro spatial F1 viewer app Lapz has been forced to pause its TestFlight distribution by the Formula One Group.’
McLaren F1 teen hopes to inspire other women (BBC)
‘Despite her success, she still gets ‘mixed views’ from men in the sport and hopes her place and an upcoming Netflix series following some of her peers, will help overtake stereotypes.’
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On this day in motorsport
Born today in 1943: Jacques Laffite, who went on to win six world championship races, all with Ligier, and led the points standings at the start of 1979.
