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Esteban Ocon has praised Ayao Komatsu's leadership, calling him 'exactly what we need,' as Haas looks to bag the 'best of the rest' status among the midfield. The Frenchman is in his debut season with the Ferrari-backed outfit after a five-year stint with Alpine.
Ocon began his 2025 season with a point-less outing at Melbourne, while his teammate Oliver Bearman followed suit, finishing one spot behind. The team, however, made a quick turnaround to log a double points finish in the Chinese Grand Prix.
Ocon recorded another strong drive to finish eighth in Bahrain. These results have placed Haas in contention with Williams for fifth in the Constructors' championship standings. The American team was placed seventh last year, which marked a major difference from the last-place finish in 2023. Notably, 2024 saw the debut stint of Komatsu as team principal, taking over from longtime boss Gunther Steiner.
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During a recent appearance for F1's Grill the Grid podcast, Ocon highlighted Komatsu's technical prowess and how it helped guide the team.
"The technical side, he still has an eye on it and has a very good view on where we should move forward. It's exactly what we need at the moment. This team has clearly shown huge progress since Ayao has joined at the lead and it’s great to see,” Esteban Ocon said, via Formula1.com.
Komatsu joined Haas in 2016 as Chief Race Engineer and was promoted to Director of Engineering in 2018, a position he held until his appointment as team principal. The move signaled an engineering-focused leadership within the team, aimed at moving away from years spent among the backmarkers.
Esteban Ocon defends Lewis Hamilton amid turbulent start with Ferrari
Esteban Ocon stepped in for Lewis Hamilton's defense amid the Briton's challenging debut stint with Ferrari. He spoke about his personal experience driving a Mercedes and how it differed from the likes of a Ferrari, a car that his ride at Haas shares similarities with.
Drawing a comparison between the two, Ocon explained how difficult it must be for Hamilton to make adjustments.
"It's very difficult, especially when you change car philosophy. The Haas car and the Ferrari car have a lot of similarities, so I can relate to Lewis on that side. I have driven the Mercedes as well in the past, so it is a very different way of driving the car or extracting the potential of it," he said, via RacingNews365.
"The car feels very different, so it is not easy for sure to adapt to that. But I am sure he will find a way very quickly," he added.
Esteban Ocon ranks ninth in the Drivers' standings, two spots below Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion has yet to finish ahead of Ferrari frontman Charles Leclerc, but showed a glimmer of hope at the Chinese Sprint, where he recorded the team's first Grand Slam of the season with a pole and a race win. However, his subsequent bout in the main race turned sour after both Ferrari drivers were disqualified after post-race inspection.
