Ayao Komatsu admits: “I would have signed for even a single point” | F1 Chinese GP. Haas quickly erased the disappointing performance in Melbourne.

A ‘full’ 14 points
It would have been a remarkable Sunday even with the ‘only’ seven points already on the board at the chequered flag, but the double disqualification of the Ferraris for technical irregularities may have already made the result crucial for the Constructors’ standings: after the nightmare weekend in Melbourne, Haas left China with 14 points in the Constructors’ standings thanks to Esteban Ocon’s fifth-place finish and Ollie ‘Ciao’ Bearman’s eighth. Below are the words of the drivers and team principal Ayao Komatsu.

Esteban Ocon: “Things obviously seemed difficult just a week ago in Melbourne, but since then we haven’t slept much, and it was worth it because we discussed everything and where to unlock the car’s performance. We knew there was more potential to be found, of course, we’re eager to improve even further, but the signs are good so far. Honestly, it was an incredible turnaround by the team. I’m proud of everyone working at Maranello, Banbury, and Kannapolis: they all worked hard to find solutions. Kudos to them and of course to Ollie too: double points are a huge deal for us, and he did a great job making a strategy opposite to that of the competitors work.”

Ollie Bearman: “It was a really positive day, I’m very happy with the result, I didn’t expect to score points. Everything I was doing with the car worked, and it feels great to find the groove and then have points to show for it. I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect a one-stop race, but the tires lasted much better than expected and the car was fantastic. The team did a great job turning the weekend around after the Sprint race. They deserve a lot of credit.”

Ayao Komatsu: “It was an extraordinary day. We reacted very well to the changing circumstances. As I said, the reaction after the Sprint to change the car setup really worked well for qualifying and the race. The communication and execution during the race were really good. I think it was the best response I could have asked for, everyone kept working after Melbourne. I didn’t expect to score 14 points today; if someone had told me I could score a single point, I would have been happy. It’s an extraordinary result.”