“We are a little nervous”: Haas F1 boss sheds light on the current state of his team

Haas F1 team principal, Ayao Komatsu, shared his expectations and feelings about the upgrades his team is bringing based on their experience in Suzuka. Komatsu shed light on the current issues that the team is facing and expressed that there is uncertainty whether the updates would help or not.

The Haas boss also named McLaren as the only exception on the grid who are certain of their plans and updates to work in their favour on the grid.

"We are a little nervous. With these cars, with the exception of McLaren, no one can be sure that it won't backfire. What we experienced in Melbourne is what other teams went through last year at various stages of the season. I no longer dare to predict whether we will be fifth or ninth in the next race," Ayao Komatsu said via AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT.

Ollie Bearman at the F1 Grand Prix of Miami - Source: Getty

Haas went with a totally new driver lineup for their team for the 2025 season, with Esteban Ocon and rookie Ollie Bearman. The duo has different driving styles, which makes the task tougher for the team in understanding the perfect setup for the car. The drivers provide different feedback to the team, which explains why one car is significantly quicker on the track during weekends.

The team came away from Miami after a disappointing result, scoring zero points over the weekend. The team is currently ranked sixth in the Constructors' title after bagging 20 points in the first six races of the season.

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Esteban Ocon recalls his first meeting with the Haas boss

Esteban Ocon has started a new journey with the Haas F1 team after moving from Alpine during the summer of last season. The driver joined the team for the 2025 season on a multi-year contract. Ocon was reunited with Haas boss, Ayao Komatsu, who was present as an engineer during Ocon’s first F1 test for Lotus way back in 2014.

"2011 or 2010, I remember we were with Gwen Lagrue, who is in charge of the Mercedes young driver programme. I went there with him, and there was like a 12-hour endurance race with F1 teams just taking part. yao was there and racing, and I was part of the Lotus team. That was the first time we met. We were teammates," Ocon recalled via Beyond the Grid podcast.

"I was probably 35 kilos at the time, so I was very fast in the go-kart. I remember he was the only one who came to me and said: ‘Esteban, how do you take this corner? Do you take a little bit of the kerb to prepare the next one?'," he added.

Ocon expressed that Komatsu is the most competitive guy he has ever met and hailed the Haas chief's leadership qualities in helping improve the performance of the team through technical aspects as well. The team has had some strong performances this season, with a double-points outing at the Chinese Grand Prix as Ocon finished 5th and Bearman finished 8th.