Haas team boss stands by Esteban Ocon sacking in ‘comfortable’ decision

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu cannot reveal why the team fired Esteban Ocon, however, he says it is a decision that he is “comfortable” with.

Haas announced in the wake of the Mexico City Grand Prix, a race in which Ocon was stood down after FP2, that the Frenchman had been dropped by the team.

Ayao Komatsu explains Haas decision to drop Esteban Ocon

Ocon’s relationship with Haas soured during practice in Mexico, where he had a heated exchange with his race engineer Laura Mueller.

What happened next has yet to be explained by either Komatsu or the driver, but it ended with Haas parting ways with Ocon.

“We have now notified Esteban Ocon that he will not return to a race seat with TGR Haas F1 Team this season,” read Komatsu’s statement in the official press release.

Days later, the team principal says he stands by his decision.

Although he would not go into detail about the events that led to Ocon’s sacking, he insists he is comfortable with the decision that he made.

“At the end of the day I am the team principal and every decision I make is ‘what do I need to do for the best interest of this team?'” Komatsu said in Sao Paulo, according to the Press Association.

“In that sense it gives me clarity, I had clarity of what I needed to do. I have to make a decision purely based on professionalism.

“Every time I go back to that. Of course it is not easy but at least I am comfortable in myself…

“I can’t go into any details but this is F1, every day is a new challenge. I take any new challenge as an opportunity to learn and do the right thing.

“Not to say the situation that happened in Mexico is something I look for. But again I’ve got a responsibility, so I have to stay 100 per cent professional and to a make a decision for the best of the team.”

Komatsu says he only informed Haas personnel in Mexico of his decision on Saturday morning to stand down Ocon and put reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa in the car.

He says he couldn’t even explain his position to the team members in the Haas garage.

“On Saturday morning when I had to tell the boys and girls here that Esteban is not driving any more, everyone was surprised but I could not go into any details,” he said.

“Normally I would want to be as transparent as possible but on this one I cannot. I said ‘all I ask is give Ryo everything.’ But it’s just brilliant, they got on with it.

“The team deserved that point and they are in good spirits. Everybody is just focused, I don’t know if the atmosphere has changed but the team is in a good place.”

Hirakawa scored a point on what could potentially be his one and only F1 outing, bringing the VF-26 home in tenth place.

Haas’ F1 2027 driver Rafael Camara is in the car for this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, with Haas yet to announce its plans for the final three races of this season.

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Sky Sports tried to get more information from Komatsu when it spoke with the team principal on Friday in Sao Paulo.

But again, he made it clear that there was nothing he could share.

“I can’t go into any details but that’s of course not how we planned it,” Komatsu said. “This was not what I expected when I signed him for last year’s drive.

“It’s a lot of sadness but I honestly felt that was the only decision I could make, professionally, as a team principal of this team. Totally professional decision, nothing else.”

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