Komatsu, who became team principal ahead of the 2024 season, said he had wanted to change the race operations team since early last year after discovering weaknesses.
Changes made by Haas include the appointment of a new chief race engineer and sporting director, two joint positions not held by the low-budget team last season.
The new chief race engineer is Francesco Nensi, who most recently worked on Audi's Dakar Rally program and has F1 experience with Sauber and Toyota. Mark Lowe, former Haas team director of operations, will be sporting director.
“I felt like the team on the track was one of the weakest areas last year, and the more competitive the car gets, the more exposed it becomes,” Komatsu said.
“At the end of the year, we had the fifth fastest car. But in terms of execution, we should have finished sixth (in the constructors' championship) but we didn't.”
“Part of that was that we left a lot of points on the table from the trackside operation. So we really needed a step forward.”
Credelic, from France, follows other female strategy leaders, including Hannah Schmitz, Red Bull's chief strategy architect. Ruth Buscombe and Bernie Collins, who previously worked at Sauber and Aston Martin, have since moved on to a career in broadcasting.
The Haas team has a unique structure where their internal operations are reduced as much as possible through their partnership with Ferrari.
Haas uses Ferrari's own wind tunnel, has its own design team in Italy in Maranello and buys almost all the parts allowed from Ferrari in the bases of their car, designing only the aerodynamic surfaces and bodywork.
They are headquartered in Kannapolis, North Carolina, but the racing team runs out of a modest factory in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Komatsu said this will be the first year that Haas will have enough budget to reach the Formula One budget limit. The other change in approach is that they will not be using Ferrari's latest redesigned front suspension, preferring to stick with last year's design for the sake of consistency of aerodynamic research.
Haas finished seventh in the overall standings last year, ahead of Racing Bulls, Williams and Sauber, and Komatsu said his sights were “to remain consistent.”
“In the history with Haas over the years, I don't think we've been able to compete across seasons in a similar way,” he said.
He added that he had ambitions to continue improving the team, which he said was “punching above its weight” due to its limited resources.
“Who (else) only has 300 people or works in this type of building?” Komatsu said.
“If Williams lives up to their potential, there's no way we can beat them. I want to get to a place where we can beat these kind of people on merit without people making mistakes.”
