Haas is advancing negotiations with new sponsors for 2027, while seeking to bring its annual budget closer to the Formula 1 cap of US$ 215 million. Team principal Ayao Komatsu stated that talks are progressing positively.
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The North American team, which has just over 400 employees, currently operates below the category’s financial limit and intends to expand its structure. According to Komatsu, new partners can directly help with the investments needed for Haas’s growth in F1.
“We are talking with many potential partners, it is progressing. I would say I am very positive about next year’s budget,” Komatsu said during the weekend in Madrid. The executive added that the process is helping the team present its project to potential partners and find new opportunities.
Among the rumors is a possible approach with BWT, the current main sponsor of Alpine, but Komatsu denied that this means a change to the traditional pink identity associated with the company: “We won’t have pink cars, if that’s what you’re saying!”, he joked.
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Komatsu also explained that the financial situation will not be used to determine the driver lineup for 2027. Haas has been evaluating names such as Ryo Hirakawa, Leonardo Fornaroli, and Brazilian Rafael Câmara, and the executive confirms that five drivers are in contention, including the current holders, Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, who seems to be the closest to having a guaranteed seat on the team next year.
If two candidates perform almost identically, commercial factors could come into play: “If it’s within a tenth, for example, very, very close, then the driver’s sponsorship package certainly comes into play,” Komatsu added, before emphasizing that performance remains the priority.
“We really want two fast drivers, because that is the best way to make this team grow. It doesn’t matter if they are two Ferrari drivers, two Toyota drivers, or two McLaren drivers,” he concluded. For Komatsu, choosing someone significantly slower just because they bring additional money would not be positive for the team’s roughly 400 employees.
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