Haas F1 boss Ayao Komatsu gets behind wheel of historic F1 car ahead of Italian GP

At Imola, just days before Formula 1 returned to Monza for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, Ayao Komatsu — team principal of Haas — took to the wheel of the historic Footwork Arrows A11B, a car that raced in the 2026 season. The event took place as part of the traditional historic car demonstrations seen at major Grand Prix weekends, but for a team facing a difficult period like Haas, it carried additional significance in terms of identity and team culture. The A11B is equipped with a 3.5-litre naturally aspirated Ford Cosworth DFR V8 engine, technology dating back more than three decades. It is an evolution of the A11 designed by Ross Brawn — the same Ross Brawn who would later become a championship-winning technical director with Ferrari and Brawn GP. That historical connection is not coincidental, given that Haas's design office is currently based in Maranello, Ferrari's technical hub, and the team uses Ferrari-supplied power units. "I wanted to invite teammates to experience the atmosphere of F1 from an earlier era," Komatsu said. "The feeling of driving a naturally aspirated car — without modern driver aids — reminds us where this sport started." However, behind that demonstration moment lies a sporting reality placing significant pressure on the American team. After an impressive start to the 2026 season with points scored in five of the first six rounds, Haas entered a prolonged scoring drought, failing to add any further points through subsequent races. Currently, the team sits seventh in the constructors' championship with 21 points — a precarious mid-table position in a fierce battle with Alpine, RB, and Williams. Free practice data from Monza revealed an uneven picture. Young British driver Ollie Bearman finished eighth in FP2 — a result suggesting the VF-26 has reasonable single-lap pace on high-speed, low-downforce circuits like Monza. Meanwhile, his teammate Esteban Ocon could manage only 17th and 18th positions. The 0.5 to 0.8-second gap between teammates is unusual for a mid-table team. Komatsu emphasized that the team would maximize practice time to gather data, particularly with a new upgrade package arriving at Monza. "They showed last year they can find performance deep into the season," he said. "Monza is an important test." In my years of observing Formula 1, a large performance gap between teammates on the same team typically reflects one of two issues: either the setup configuration does not suit one driver's style, or one driver is running a different testing program — for example, one optimizing for single-lap qualifying pace while the other evaluates the upgrade in race configuration. This is not uncommon among resource-constrained midfield teams, where practice time must be divided between competing strategic objectives. The upgrade package Haas brought to Monza is most likely circuit-specific, focused on a low-drag aerodynamic configuration suited to the fastest track on the F1 calendar. This means the package's performance may not transfer directly to circuits with different downforce characteristics. Every upgrade package consumes a portion of the cost cap budget, and for a team like Haas, this always creates a balancing act between current performance and resources allocated for the 2026 car, when major technical regulation changes take effect. Seventh place with 21 points is far from safe in the current midfield battle. Alpine, RB, and Williams are all competing fiercely, and a single extended scoring drought could push Haas down the standings. Mid-table points are typically densely distributed, with just a few points separating positions — and those points determine prize money distribution, a financial lifeline for cost-capped teams. The practice performance gap between Bearman and Ocon raises questions about Haas's scoring structure for the remainder of the season. Relying on a single driver for points is a fragile sporting position, as any technical failure, incident, or simply a bad day removes the team's entire scoring capacity for that race. A team competing for championship positions cannot build long-term strategy on such an unstable foundation. The frustrating Zandvoort weekend was described by Komatsu as "disappointing," though he also noted the team had "operational positives." In my experience following press conferences, this phrasing typically indicates the problem was raw car pace rather than strategic decisions or pit stop errors. Haas may have executed everything correctly at Zandvoort operationally, but the car was simply not fast enough on a track with different aerodynamic characteristics. This context explains why Komatsu's drive in the A11B was not merely a public relations exercise. In a season where the team struggles to find rhythm, creating a shared moment of connection — whether sitting behind the wheel of a 35-year-old car or simply sharing a common experience — can positively impact team morale. This is something many outsiders overlook when focusing solely on the points table. Looking more broadly, the midfield battle in Formula 1 is entering a compressed phase. As teams progress through the middle of the current technical regulation cycle, competition typically intensifies because all teams have converged in performance. A small improvement can mean the difference between scoring no points and reaching the podium, and vice versa. This raises the bar for every development decision Haas makes: each upgrade package must deliver measurable gains, as marginal improvements are no longer sufficient to maintain competitive position. Meanwhile, the cost cap forces teams to make a clear strategic choice: invest in current-season performance or allocate resources for 2026, when F1 transitions to entirely new technical regulations. This is not an easy calculation, as a team could win short-term while losing position when the technical map is redrawn, or conversely, prepare carefully for the future while losing momentum and current income. The critical question for Haas in the coming weeks is not whether Bearman can continue delivering impressive single-lap pace, but whether the new upgrade package can convert into actual points. The success of a midfield team is measured not by a single practice result, but by the ability to convert potential into points across every race. Monza, with its characteristic low tire degradation and typically one-stop race strategy, often reduces strategic variability — which can benefit teams with strong single-lap pace but weaker race pace. This is both an advantage and a risk, depending on the car's raw speed. With its technical relationship with Ferrari and a design office in Maranello, Haas possesses a structural advantage that many teams at the same level do not have. However, that advantage only matters when converted into on-track performance. Thirty-five years ago, Ross Brawn designed the A11 with completely different technology, but the core philosophy remained the same: finding the car's limits and maximizing them. That is exactly what Komatsu is trying to do with the VF-26, in a much more fiercely competitive environment. What happens at Monza this weekend will be the clearest signal yet as to whether Haas can escape its scoring drought and return to the points-scoring fold. Qualifying and race results will reveal whether the new upgrade package truly delivers measurable improvement, or is merely another step in the evolutionary development path the team has pursued all season. More importantly, if the gap between Bearman and Ocon narrows, it will be a positive sign of the team's structural strength — the factor determining long-term competitiveness, not just a single moment.