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Ayao Komatsu

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The native form of this personal name is Komatsu Ayao. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals. Japanese motorsport executive (born 1976)

Ayao Komatsu
小松 礼雄
Born (1976-01-28) 28 January 1976 (age 48)
Tokyo, Japan
Alma materLoughborough University (BEng, PhD)
Occupations
  • Motorsport executive
  • engineer
Employers
TitleTeam Principal
Spouse Sachie ​(m. 2010)

Ayao Komatsu (Japanese: 小松 礼雄, Hepburn: Komatsu Ayao, born 28 January 1976) is a Japanese motorsport executive and engineer. Since January 2024, Komatsu has served as team principal of Haas in Formula One; he previously served as chief race engineer of Lotus.

Early life and education

Komatsu was born in Tokyo, Japan on 28 January 1976 to Keiko and Yuichiro Komatsu. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to study at Loughborough University, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Automotive Engineering and a PhD in Vehicle Dynamics and Control. He was married to a woman named Sachie in 2010.

Komatsu has supported association football club Coventry City since 1995.

Career

BAR (2003–2005)

Komatsu began his career in motorsport in 2003 as a tyre engineer for British American Racing, and stuck with the Brackley team for two seasons.

Renault/Lotus (2006–2015)

In 2006 he moved to Renault to work as a performance engineer, starting out on the test team before being promoted to the race team working with drivers such as Nelson Piquet Jr., Romain Grosjean and Vitaly Petrov.

After Mark Slade departed at the commencement of the 2011 season he was promoted to Petrov's race engineer, working with him for one year before partnering up with the returning Grosjean for 2012. Grosjean and Komatsu formed a close bond, scoring nine podium finishes and fighting for race wins at the end of 2013. After a disappointing 2014, Komatsu was promoted to chief race engineer at Lotus, helping Grosjean and the Enstone team score a podium at the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix.

Haas (2016–present)

When Grosjean left for the newly established Haas F1 Team, Komatsu followed him, becoming trackside engineering director for the American outfit in 2016.

Nico Hülkenberg driving the Haas VF-24 at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix

Komatsu became team principal for Haas on 10 January 2024, after the departure of Guenther Steiner.

Bibliography

  • エンジニアが明かすF1の世界 [The World of F1 Revealed by an Engineer] (in Japanese). Toho Publishing. 2019. ISBN 9784809414879.

References

  1. "F1 - 2023 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - FRIDAY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2024. AK: No, I'm from Tokyo
  2. Jan, van der Burgt (10 January 2024). "Who is the new team boss of Haas F1?". RacingNews365. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  3. Karpov, Oleg (3 October 2023). "F1 folk: The 'lucky' engineer who guided Grosjean and helped build Haas". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  4. "Who is Ayao Komatsu? What you need to know about new Haas F1 boss". The Race. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  5. ^ Komatsu, Ayao (26 July 2010). Vehicle Path Optimisation and Controllability on the Limit using Optimal Control Techniques (PhD thesis). Loughborough University. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  6. @SkySportsF1 (17 January 2024). "Will we see Ayao Komatsu and Christian Horner at a Coventry City match together?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. "Q&A with Ayao Komatsu, Petrov's race engineer". NextGenAuto.com. 4 October 2011.
  8. "Ayao Komatsu profile". sidepodcast.
  9. "Haas Engineer Komatsu says Grosjean had 'Natural' Speed and Talent". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. 13 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Tech F1i: Ayao Komatsu - Chief race engineer". F1i. 26 January 2018.
  11. "MoneyGram Haas F1 Team Appoints Ayao Komatsu Team Principal | Haas F1 Team". www.haasf1team.com. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  12. "How to become a Director of Engineering in F1 – Qualifications, skills & more". autosport. 21 July 2021.
  13. "Steiner leaves as Haas Team Principal with immediate effect". www.formula1.com. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  14. Benson, Andrew (10 January 2024). "Haas: Guenther Steiner leaves as team principal after 10 years". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
United States Haas F1 Team
Founder
Gene Haas
Team Principal
Ayao Komatsu
Personnel
Ben Agathangelou
Damien Brayshaw [pt]
Ruth Buscombe
Peter Crolla
Andrea De Zordo [pt]
Adam Jacobs
Dave O'Neill [pt]
Simone Resta
Mark Slade
Guenther Steiner
Rob Taylor [pt]
2024 Race drivers
20. Germany Nico Hülkenberg
27. Denmark Kevin Magnussen
50. United Kingdom Oliver Bearman
2025 Race drivers
31. France Esteban Ocon
87. United Kingdom Oliver Bearman
Test and reserve drivers
Brazil Pietro Fittipaldi
Development drivers
Brazil Pietro Fittipaldi
United States Chloe Chambers
Former drivers
Brazil Pietro Fittipaldi
Mexico Esteban Gutiérrez
France Romain Grosjean
Russian Automobile Federation Nikita Mazepin
Germany Mick Schumacher
Formula One cars
VF-16
VF-17
VF-18
VF-19
VF-20
VF-21
VF-22
VF-23
VF-24
Related
Haas Automation
Haas Factory Team
Stewart–Haas Racing
Scuderia Ferrari
United Kingdom Lotus F1 Team
Notable personnel
James Allison
Éric Boullier
Matthew Carter
Nick Chester
Chris Cooney
Dirk de Beer
Mike Elliott
Federico Gastaldi
Nicolas Hennel
Carmen Jordá
Ayao Komatsu
Gérard López
Patrick Louis
Eric Lux
Jarrod Murphy
Alan Permane
Ciaron Pilbeam
Simon Rennie
Iñaki Rueda
Andy Ruhan
Mark Slade
Martin Tolliday
Jon Tomlinson
Naoki Tokunaga
Simon Virrill
Dave Wheater
Drivers
Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio
France Romain Grosjean
Finland Heikki Kovalainen
Venezuela Pastor Maldonado
Finland Kimi Räikkönen
Formula One Cars
E20
E21
E22
E23 Hybrid
Related
Genii Capital
Group Lotus
Lotus F1 Junior Team
Team Enstone
France Renault in Formula One United Kingdom
Équipe Renault (19771985)
Notable personnel
Bernard Dudot
Gérard Larrousse
Jean Sage
Michel Têtu
Notable drivers
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
René Arnoux
Alain Prost
Eddie Cheever
Derek Warwick
Patrick Tambay
Philippe Streiff
François Hesnault
Formula One cars
RS01
RS10
RE20
RE20B
RE30
RE30B
RE30C
RE40
RE50
RE60
RE60B
Related
Renault
Renault Sport
Renault F1 Team (20022010)
Notable personnel
James Allison
Bob Bell
Éric Boullier
Flavio Briatore
Dirk de Beer
Jean-François Caubet
Nick Chester
Denis Chevrier
Tad Czapski
Alain Dassas
Tim Densham
Mike Elliott
Patrick Faure
John Iley
Ayao Komatsu
Gérard López
Patrick Louis
Eric Lux
Rob Marshall
Paul Monaghan
Jarrod Murphy
Rod Nelson
Steve Nielsen
Alan Permane
Simon Rennie
Bernard Rey
Iñaki Rueda
Mark Slade
Mark Smith
Pat Symonds
Rémi Taffin
Dino Toso
Jon Tomlinson
Naoki Tokunaga
Jonathan Wheatley
Rob White
Notable drivers
Jarno Trulli
Jenson Button
Giancarlo Fisichella
Heikki Kovalainen
Nelson Piquet Jr.
Robert Kubica
World Champion(s)
Spain Fernando Alonso
Drivers' titles
2005
2006
Constructors' titles
2005
2006
Formula One cars
R202
R23
R24
R25
R26
R27
R28
R29
R30
Related
Renault
Renault Sport
RF1 Driver Programme
Renault Formula One crash controversy
Team Enstone
Lotus Renault GP (2011)
Notable personnel
Éric Boullier
James Allison
Dirk de Beer
Jean-François Caubet
Nick Chester
Tim Densham
Mike Elliott
Ayao Komatsu
Gérard López
Patrick Louis
Eric Lux
Jarrod Murphy
Steve Nielsen
Alan Permane
Iñaki Rueda
Simon Rennie
Bernard Rey
Julien Simon-Chautemps
Naoki Tokunaga
Drivers
Nick Heidfeld
Vitaly Petrov
Bruno Senna
Formula One cars
R31
Related
Genii Capital
Group Lotus
LRGP Academy
Team Enstone
Renault F1 Team (20162020)
Executive management
Cyril Abiteboul (managing director)
Luca de Meo (Group CEO)
Marcin Budkowski (Executive Director)
Jérôme Stoll (President)
Notable personnel
Dirk de Beer
Chris Dyer
Pat Fry
Alan Permane
Ciaron Pilbeam
Alain Prost
Rémi Taffin
Bob Bell
Nick Chester
Mark Slade
Julien Simon-Chautemps
Frédéric Vasseur
Notable drivers
Kevin Magnussen
Jolyon Palmer
Carlos Sainz Jr.
Nico Hülkenberg
Daniel Ricciardo
Esteban Ocon
Renault Sport Academy
Max Fewtrell
Christian Lundgaard
Caio Collet
Zhou Guanyu
Oscar Piastri
Hadrien David
Formula One cars
R.S.16
R.S.17
R.S.18
R.S.19
R.S.20
Related
Groupe Renault
Renault Sport
Alpine F1 Team
Team Enstone
Titles achieved with Renault engines
Drivers' titles
1992
1993
1995
1996
1997
2005
2006
2010
2011
2012
2013
Constructors' titles
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
2005
2006
2010
2011
2012
2013
Related
Renault
Renault Sport
Renault Sport F1
Renault engine customers' Grand Prix results

Italics indicate factory team.

United Kingdom British American Racing
Founder
Craig Pollock
Former Staff
Mariano Alperin [ja]
Jock Clear
Gil de Ferran
Mark Ellis
Nick Fry
Luca Furbatto
Andrew Green
Ayao Komatsu
Simon Lacey
Ron Meadows
Malcolm Oastler
Adrian Reynard
David Richards
Andrew Shovlin
Otmar Szafnauer
Willem Toet
James Vowles
Graham Watson
Geoff Willis
Craig Wilson [ja]
Ian Wright
Jörg Zander
Drivers
Canada Jacques Villeneuve
United Kingdom Jenson Button
Japan Takuma Sato
France Olivier Panis
Brazil Ricardo Zonta
Finland Mika Salo
United Kingdom Anthony Davidson
Formula One cars
01
002
003
004
005
006
007
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