Komatsu on Ocon: “No one is satisfied with 2025, but it’s not all his fault”
Ayao Komatsu, Haas team principal, doesn’t mince words when describing Esteban Ocon’s 2025 season. However, he also acknowledges the team’s partial responsibility and encourages the driver, confident in his talent.
“Same story, same place, same bar,” as Max Pezzali would say. Haas TGR F1 is starting the 2026 season by focusing on its foundational pillars, particularly important in a year that introduces a new technical regulation, new engines, and new power units.
Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman are the standout drivers of a team that finished ninth in the 2025 Constructors’ Championship but aims to climb the standings with increased support from Toyota Gazoo Racing in recent months.
Haas expects a lot from its drivers. While Oliver Bearman delivered a solid rookie season, Esteban Ocon’s performance was less consistent. Ayao Komatsu spoke frankly about the French driver’s results.
“If you look purely at the sporting results, without going into the details, certainly no one is satisfied with Esteban’s results last year,” said Komatsu. “He was the teammate of a rookie. Yes, an extraordinary rookie, but he has 10 years of F1 experience. He’s a race winner and has been on the podium. So we expected more from him.”
However, Komatsu quickly defended Ocon, explaining that the team also played a role in the challenges faced by the French driver. “And of course it’s not entirely his fault; it’s 50/50. Sometimes it’s the team: we didn’t always provide him with a car he felt comfortable in, especially in qualifying.
“On some circuits, this was much more pronounced than on others. Look at Baku: he was not at all happy with certain braking performance and was far off pace in qualifying. Yes, Baku was one of Ollie’s strongest tracks, but we didn’t expect Esteban’s worst day to be so distant.”
“Again, there isn’t a single reason. It’s not just the driver, not just the team, and every situation is different. So there’s no common factor, no silver bullet. It’s simply a process—the way we work together to resolve issues faster and implement solutions for the next race.”
“And this is exactly the area where I feel we—all together, team and driver—didn’t do a good job last year, because I really felt we should have solved the situation much earlier.”
Komatsu also cited the final race of last season in Abu Dhabi, where Ocon struggled so much on Friday that he told Canal+ he “felt like a rookie who had never driven an F1 car.”
“There was a lot of instability,” Komatsu added. “He felt like he couldn’t drive anymore, couldn’t put together a lap. It was unmanageable for many races. We couldn’t solve the problems, and the car didn’t suit his driving style, so… we were simply slow. Very, very far from where we should be.”
Despite this, Esteban Ocon narrowly beat Oliver Bearman in qualifying to reach Q3 and finished an impressive seventh in the race, starting from eighth on the grid.
“Look at Abu Dhabi on Friday: he was completely off pace, about four-tenths slower than Ollie; Saturday, bang, he was on pace,” highlighted Ayao Komatsu.
“Again, there isn’t a single major reason, but several factors. I wouldn’t call them minor things, but even small elements can trigger, let’s say, a domino effect. We need to manage them faster because Esteban’s potential is clear.”
“If you look at Abu Dhabi, what he can do on Saturday and Sunday after a very negative Friday—that’s his talent, that’s his ability. And we have to leverage it, make sure we use it, because this year we really need two drivers. I mean, we needed it last year too, but this year we need it even more.”
The candid reflections from Ayao Komatsu underscore the complex dynamic between Esteban Ocon and Haas as they navigate the challenges of the 2025 season. By acknowledging the “50-50” split in responsibility for past performance, the team is fostering a more collaborative environment heading into the 2026 technical revolution. The focus remains on unlocking Ocon’s proven race-winning talent more consistently, ensuring that both he and Oliver Bearman can maximize the growing resources of the Haas-Toyota partnership to propel the team back up the Constructors’ standings.
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