Haas' Komatsu: Ocon and Team share Blame for 2025

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said the team “expected more” from Esteban Ocon after a difficult 2025 season, adding that “nobody’s satisfied” with the sporting result and describing responsibility for the shortfall as roughly “50/50” between driver and team. Ocon joined Haas for 2025 after Nico Hülkenberg moved to Sauber; despite a previous Grand Prix win and additional podiums he was narrowly outscored 38–41 and outqualified 11–17 (excluding technical issues) by rookie teammate Oliver Bearman. Komatsu highlighted issues Ocon raised — notably braking instability and inconsistent car behaviour that Bearman did not appear to suffer — and pointed to weekends such as Baku, where Ocon was “miles off” in qualifying, versus Abu Dhabi, where a poor Friday was followed by recovery to Q3 and a seventh-place finish, as evidence of inconsistency alongside underlying ability. He urged the team to speed up its engineering and set‑up processes so small faults do not compound across a race weekend, saying those technical and operational fixes are essential for Haas to unlock both drivers’ performances as it plans for 2026.

Komatsu also acknowledged ongoing contract uncertainty and confirmed Ocon had been mentioned among names at risk heading into the 2026 silly season. He described “very good ongoing talks” over the winter that have improved Ocon’s understanding of how driver and team should work together and helped align expectations for a critical year in the driver’s F1 career. Haas says the situation is being actively managed and expects clearer on‑track performance and cohesion in 2026; both performance and contract outcomes will likely determine Ocon’s immediate future and whether roster changes are required.