Haas Chief Had Conversation With Esteban Ocon Over Alpine Crash - 'Not Like It's Gone Unnoticed'

Alex Harrington | Aug 8, 2024

Nov 18, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; BWT Alpine F1 driver Esteban Ocon of France (31) during the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

 Ayao Komatsu, Haas Team Principal, is banking on strong, transparent communications to forge a fruitful relationship with new recruit Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman, poised to join Haas in 2025 and currently known for his tumultuous stint with Alpine, has been the subject of conversations around his past on-track controversies, particularly the incident at Monaco with teammate Pierre Gasly.

Komatsu, drawing from an extensive career across various technical and leadership roles in Formula 1 including race engineer and director of engineering, highlighted the need for clear boundaries and open dialogue.

“Honestly, I think lots of it comes down to transparency, trust and then clarity of rules of engagement,” Komatsu explained. “Not in my current position but I’ve been doing Formula 1 for a reasonably long time – in my various positions of race engineer, chief race engineer, director of engineering or current position of tam principal.

“My experience is that as long as I approach them with transparency, no personal agenda, a clear team’s agenda about how we need to go through this race weekend or this year, what’s the objective, what’s the rules of engagement… As long as that’s clarified in advance, as long as the communication is totally transparent then the trust is there."

Komatsu added, "When the trust is there then I haven’t actually encountered any issues that got out of hand. So I’m not worried, personally.”

This approach comes in light of Ocon's controversial history, including the clash with Gasly in Monaco, jeopardizing their races. It was clear during negotiations that this was a concern, with Komatsu noting, “Of course we had to consider it.”

Yet, despite past incidents, Komatsu expressed confidence in the new team lineup, which will see Ocon paired with rookie and Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman in 2025, following the departure of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

Komatsu's strategy extends beyond mere damage control. He is remarkably positive about Ocon’s commitment to the Haas project.

“He’s only 27, he’s still got lots to prove, and for me he’s still got amazing commitment and work ethic,” Komatsu shared.

“And when I met him and explained the project to him about where we are and what we’re trying to achieve, I wasn’t trying to convince him, I just told him as it is. And then he just got completely on board, to be honest much more so than I expected.” Komatsu added that Ocon’s proactive interest was a significant positive.

“He was so engaged, he wanted to be part of this project and he believes in this project. It means quite a lot to me that we have a driver – experienced driver – with a good track record, still young, still has a lot to prove, and he completely 100 percent believes in the project.

“I am sure he will give us his all, so I am really looking forward to it.”