Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu says Ocon was sold on joining the team for 2025 long before the team’s recently announced partnership with Toyota was announced.
With the announcement late last week that Haas would be partnering with Toyota Gazoo Racing, the spotlight has been on the American team, as they set their sights high for their future development. With Esteban Ocon set to join the team from Alpine for the 2025 alongside incoming rookie Oliver Bearman, Haas have shown they are not afraid to make big changes to see improvements.
Following last week’s announcement, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu was asked if the team’s partnership with Toyota had been a key bargaining chip while courting Ocon. Despite the obvious benefits associated with the technical partnership, Ayao insists he did not mention it to the Frenchman during discussion.
“Not specifically,” Komatsu told the media when asked if Ocon was made aware of the technical partnership following last week’s announcement. “I did say to him we have a development plan to take this team forward and to make a reasonable step change, if you like.
“But [at] the point where I was trying to finalise Esteban’s contract, which was around Austria time, it was too early for me to guarantee anything to Esteban.”
Explaining his decision not to mention the discussions with Toyota, which were ongoing at the time of Ocon’s signing, Komatsu explained he did not want to over promise and under deliver. He went on to explain Ocon joined the team with the understanding that Komatsu and Haas have a strong development plan in place to move the team up the field.
“I never wanted to tell Esteban [Ocon] something that I cannot guarantee,” He explained. “And then he signed from that understanding and then I cannot tell Esteban three months later ‘sorry mate, I couldn’t make it happen’.
“He signed with the understanding that there’s a vision to take this team forward, and instead of being specific about this technical partnership, I told him how we are planning to develop the team, and then he was very much on board with that idea.”
With an all new driver lineup, at the recently announced Toyota Gazoo Racing partnership, Haas are on firm footing to make strides in the coming season’s.
