Kevin Magnussen says that a changed dynamic under new Haas Formula 1 team principal Ayao Komatsu has seen the US-owned team refrain from “unrealistic optimism” heading into the new season.

Komatsu was named in the top job after Gene Haas declined to renew the contract of former boss Guenther Steiner, whose departure was confirmed last month.

When announcing the decision, Haas made it clear that he wanted to have engineering “at the heart” of the team management.

Having worked with Komatsu since he joined the team in 2017, Magnussen already has a “good relationship” with the new boss and says the reshuffle has been “been a big change in our team” that he expects will shift the “dynamic and communication across the whole organisation”.

But after a difficult 2023 season, which saw Haas finish last in the world championship, Magnussen accepts there is no reason to expect an immediate improvement in form and says Komatsu isn't getting carried away.

“Expectations are being managed quite well this year,” he said.

“I think some years there has been some unrealistic optimism going into seasons, and I’ve been affected by it as well.

“Certainly, Ayao is very clear that he doesn’t think we’ve moved out of last year’s position yet, but he’s clear in that he sees the development trajectory looking a lot stronger, so he’s actually optimistic that we can move forward through this year.

“The entire field is so close together, and I think last year we completely ran into a wall in terms of development.