“Ferrari and our car are the most difficult to drive”: Haas senior figure on having ‘different aerodynamic’ concept than other F1 cars
Ayo Komatsu of Haas revealed that their car and the Ferrari are extremely difficult in terms of drivability, especially in traffic during a race. He feels this is because of the unique design concept of their cars, which is different from the rest of the field.
Since the 2022 season, Ferrari has been using a signature 'scooped' sidepod design, which has seen minor changes on the SF-23. Although in the previous season, the F1-75 was extremely competitive, that hasn't been the case this season.
Haas' head of operations, Ayo Komatsu revealed that their car has been suffering 'in traffic,' referring to how close they can follow up another car before it becomes undrivable.
According to him, this is because of the unique design concept of their car and since Ferrari has the same design, they have the same issue. Auto Motor Sport quoted him as saying:
"The Ferrari and our car are the most difficult to drive in traffic. This is because we have a completely different aerodynamic concept than the other cars. We suffer in traffic, which makes the drivers prefer keeping our distance."
This is perhaps also the reason why it has been hard for the cars to chase others on track while trying to attempt an overtake. While Carlos Sainz's overtakes in Australia proved otherwise, competing with the cars at the top of the field is a completely different task.
Is Ferrari losing out on the advantage of closer racing?
The new 2022 regulations were introduced in the sport to make the races more exciting. To ensure this, aerodynamic changes were introduced in the cars that made it easier for them to follow each other closely through their slipstream.
This also saw the return of the ground effect which essentially helped in the above phenomenon.
However, as Ayo Komatsu revealed, the design concept of both the Haas and Ferrari cars makes it difficult for them to follow other cars. He mentioned that the drivers lose out on the DRS advantage because of the same issue. This could potentially mean that the team is losing out on the advantage that the rest of the field is taking.
It has been speculated that the Scuderia will move towards the design approach that Red Bull has been following which has brought them massive success. However, as of now, the team needs to develop a lot to remain competitive after the horrible start they have made to the season in 2023.