Ayao Komatsu has explained that Toyota was never guaranteed a Haas race seat as part of the partnership between the two organisations, insisting that Rafael Câmara was selected for 2027 because he proved to be the fastest candidate. The Haas team principal said he made that principle clear to Akio Toyoda before any commitment was signed.
Komatsu discussed the decision during an exclusive meeting attended by Formula1.it and a number of international motorsport publications, alongside Rafael Câmara. The conversation covered the reasons behind Haas’ choice, the role of Toyota and whether the Japanese manufacturer had any right of veto over the driver who would partner Oliver Bearman in 2027.
Komatsu says Toyota was never promised a Haas seat
Komatsu said the issue had been addressed from the very beginning of negotiations with Toyota in 2024.
“From the beginning of the negotiations with Toyota in 2024, I knew that Akio Toyoda wanted to place one of his drivers in a full-time seat for 2027,” Ayao Komatsu said.
“I went to Tokyo in person before signing any commitment because I did not want there to be any misunderstandings or for them to invest with the preconceived idea that a seat was guaranteed.”
Komatsu made clear that whoever was chosen would have to earn the opportunity on performance.
“I told him clearly that the driver, whoever it was, had to be the fastest. Otherwise, he would have been labelled as a Toyota pay driver and Haas would not have achieved the results we wanted.”
Akio Toyoda accepted Haas merit-based approach
According to Komatsu, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda accepted that principle immediately.
“Akio-san absolutely agreed from the start. We kept him constantly informed about the evaluations and about Ryo Hirakawa.”
Haas then organised a comparative test to assess the available candidates directly rather than relying only on junior-category results.
“When we explained the comparative test plan to him, he was delighted to see that Haas was working in such a serious and merit-based way.”
“That also demonstrated the calibre of the person he is. He never expected a seat to be handed out without merit.”
Once the final decision had been made, Komatsu travelled to explain the outcome personally.
“After making the decision, I went to speak to him in person on the Monday after Singapore to explain the entire process, and he was completely relaxed about it.”
“He is an extraordinary person and I can only be grateful for the collaboration and for having had the chance to know him.”
Rafael Câmara could receive FP1 opportunities
Haas could now give Câmara opportunities during selected FP1 sessions to help prepare him as closely as possible for Formula 1.
When asked about that possibility, Komatsu gave only a brief response: “To be confirmed.”
The team principal indicated that any such programme will be confirmed and announced at a later stage, potentially within the coming weeks.
Portimão comparison test proved crucial to Haas decision
Komatsu also explained how important the comparative test at Portimão was in reaching the final decision.
He was asked whether Haas would have chosen the same driver if the test had not been possible and whether Formula 2 results alone would have been enough.
“That is a very good question. This is exactly why we wanted to create a TPC testing structure,” Komatsu said.
“Thanks to the collaboration with Toyota, we set up the test team last year to get it running and operating professionally, and this year we knew that we had to be capable of evaluating drivers internally ahead of the contract deadlines.”
Without that programme, Komatsu admitted he would not have had the same confidence in the decision.
“Without the TPC test, it is difficult to say. I would not have had the same level of confidence and probably would not have made the same decision, because judging Formula 2 from the outside is really difficult.”
Oliver Bearman example shaped Komatsu’s thinking
Komatsu pointed to Haas’ previous decision to promote Oliver Bearman as an example of why headline Formula 2 results do not always tell the full story.
“Many of you had doubts when I chose Ollie for the 2025 seat because his F2 results did not stand out, but I was confident because of what we had seen in FP1.”
That experience made direct evaluation particularly important when assessing Câmara.
“Choosing Rafa without this test would have looked much more like a gamble, and I don’t know whether I would have wanted to take that risk.”
“But that is a hypothetical scenario. I prefer to focus on the fact that the team created this system and Rafa was ready when the opportunity came, doing a fantastic job.”
Sponsorship did not decide Câmara’s Haas seat
Komatsu was also asked whether the Brazilian sponsors that have supported Câmara during his career are expected to follow him into Formula 1 and whether Haas could make further commercial announcements in the coming weeks.
“It is likely to happen, but all the drivers we evaluated had sponsors behind them,” Komatsu said.
He stressed that sponsorship was not decisive because the performance difference between the candidates was clear.
“As I said, fortunately the difference in speed was clear and that aspect was not decisive in the choice.”
“We always choose the fastest. If performance and talent had been equal, secondary factors would have carried some weight, but for us it was clear that Rafa was the quickest and we chose him exclusively for that reason.”
Komatsu’s explanation therefore makes clear that the Toyota relationship helped Haas create the testing structure used to assess its options, but did not guarantee a place to any Toyota-linked driver. In Haas’ view, Câmara secured the opportunity because his performance in the evaluation process separated him from the other candidates.
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