It was in the team’s best interests, says Komatsu on letting Ocon go

Haas is drawing a line under Esteban Ocon’s unsuccessful spell with the team. The French driver has not seen out his two-year contract. He had originally been due to bow out in Abu Dhabi and celebrate his 200th Grand Prix along the way, but a falling-out with Haas boss Ayao Komatsu in Mexico led to his dismissal.

There is still no official account of what actually happened. All we have so far is media speculation suggesting there was an argument after Friday practice in Mexico, followed by some form of physical confrontation. Ocon himself confirmed there had been an exchange of views, but firmly denied any violence on his part.

For now, the only certainty is that Esteban’s time at Haas is over. Ryo Hirakawa replaced him in Mexico, while Rafael Câmara is driving in Brazil. “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 told the media. “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,” the Japanese engineer continued.

“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% professional and a make a decision for the best of the team,” said Komatsu.

The Haas boss has not shared the details with the wider team either. His comments suggest that even Ocon’s mechanics and engineers have not been told why he was sacked. The matter therefore remains shrouded in mystery, and the team has had to accept that Ayao did what was best for Haas.

“It is almost two years working with Esteban, it has taught me a lot. 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,” Komatsu continued.

“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 again 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,” the Haas boss added.