The decision to bring Esteban Ocon on board for 2025 and beyond was announced in Spa-Francorchamps, the track where Ocon made his F1 debut in 2016 for the now-defunct Manor Racing. This marks the first time that a Grand Prix winner will drive for Haas, which is a significant achievement for the team.
Ayao Komatsu is well-acquainted with Ocon, having been his race engineer during his first F1 test with Lotus back in 2014. Speaking in Belgium on Thursday, the Haas team principal was full of praise for the French driver.
Explaining the decision to sign him, Komatsu said, “Why? Because I believe he’s got a proven track record. He’s scored so many points and he’s a race winner. And he achieved so much already in the sport. And again, his time against Fernando Alonso, that was pretty impressive. But then he’s only 27. You know, he’s still got lots to prove. And then he’s got a pretty…
“For me, he’s got really amazing commitment and work ethic. And when I met him, when I explained to him about this project, where we are, what we’re trying to achieve, you know, I wasn’t trying to convince him. I just told him as it is.
“And then he completely got on board. To be honest, much more so than I expected. And he was so engaged. He wanted to be part of this project. He believes in this project.
“So, again, it means a lot to me that we have an experienced driver, good track record, still young, still has lots to prove. He completely, 100% believes in the project. And then I’m sure he will give his all. So, yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.”
Asked when the talks between Ocon and Haas started taking shape, Komatsu said, “I met him after Miami and then in England. I had talked with his manager beforehand and I met him in England after Miami. Then, again, this is when I told him where we are, what we’re trying to do as a team, what our plans are. But in terms of plans and what we’re trying to do, none of them is guaranteed.
“This is just my vision. And this is how we’re trying to move the team forward. And then…I think that was the key meeting. I think he really was on board. And then he really liked the vision and what we’re trying to achieve. And then, yeah, he was very, I don’t know, engaged on that.”
Komatsu also addressed concerns regarding Ocon’s history of strained teammate relationships. Ocon famously clashed several times with his Force India-turned-Racing Point teammate, Sergio Perez. Most recently, he was criticised for colliding with Pierre Gasly on the opening lap of the Monaco Grand Prix, obliterating any chance of a double points finish after a promising qualifying result for both Alpine drivers.
Next year, Ocon will find himself paired with a promising rookie driver, Ollie Bearman. Komatsu highlighted that Haas was looking for an established, experienced driver to provide a baseline for the team.
“In terms of consistency, etc., there’s still a lot for him to prove. He’s still a guy who’s in his 20s and hungry for more. Again, we’re trying to move this team forward, so we need a driver who’s still…
“We’ve already got somebody, an exciting young talent who wants to progress, which is great, which is amazing. It’s exactly what the team wanted, but at the same time, we needed somebody who’s got the current F1 experience to provide a baseline, if you like. But this person, still I just wanted to be somebody who’s still got things to prove to go forward.”
Coming into the team as a rookie, after a highly lauded F1 debut outing with Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, Bearman will no doubt have ambitions and goals of his own. However, Komatsu believes he will be able to keep the peace between the new Haas signings.
“Honestly, I think lots of it comes down to transparency, trust, and then clear, clarity of rule of engagement,” he said.
“I think the problem happens when there’s certain trust broken between team and driver as well. And then, of course, not in my current position, but I’ve been doing things in Formula 1 for a reasonably long time.
“And then in my various positions, I’m race engineer, chief race engineer, director of engineering, or current position team principal. My experience is as long as I approach them with transparency, no personal agenda, clear team’s agenda about how we need to go for this race weekend, this year—what’s the objective, what’s the rule of engagement…
“As long as that’s clarified in advance, as long as the communication is totally transparent, then the trust is there. And when the trust is there, I haven’t actually encountered any issues that got out of hand.
“So, I’m not worried, personally. If I was worried, I wouldn’t have chosen this combination because it’s my responsibility that we have two drivers who work for the team, for the best interest of the team. I have no doubt that both Esteban and Oliver deliver that.
“(…) I think the important thing is the other driver needs to be providing a reference to the team,” Komatsu continued. “Because in terms of nurturing, et cetera, it all sounds good.
“But if you’re not providing a reference, it’s not good for Ollie either. So we needed somebody who can provide that reference and then make sure we provide the environment that two drivers work together as a team. I have no doubt they will. And then I have no doubt that we as a Haas F1 team can provide that environment.”
Komatsu added that Haas’ improved form this year prompted interest from several drivers.
“Already around China or Melbourne, I had a very interesting conversation with many drivers. So I was pretty grateful of the interest those guys showed to us. I think that’s because we started showing that, okay, we can fight in the midfield, we are heading in the right direction. So yeah, that was a pretty good surprise.
“(…) Yeah, I’m pretty grateful about that, that [Ocon] has chosen to come here over a few other teams, which is bigger than us. Everybody’s bigger than us, right? So yeah, it’s a very positive message, yes.”
