Ocon and Komatsu reject Haas exit rumours in Montreal
Esteban Ocon's response to Haas exit rumours was incandescent, and team boss Ayao Komatsu joined him in turning the heat on the reporters who started them.
Esteban Ocon has angrily dismissed rumours he is headed for the exit at Haas - and even threatened the journalist behind the reports.
Speculation about the 29-year-old's future intensified during the gap between Miami and Montreal after repeated claims that team boss Ayao Komatsu is unhappy with the Frenchman's performances and behaviour inside the team.
Former driver Ralf Schumacher also suggested that Haas could even replace Ocon before the end of the season.
But speaking in Montreal on Thursday, Ocon exploded when asked about the rumours.
"This is complete bullsh*t to be honest," he said. "It's unbelievable."
Ocon mocked one report for incorrectly referring to Komatsu as "Ryo Komatsu".
"I was just talking to Ayao about this," he said. "In the article I read, they called him Ryo Komatsu, which is pretty funny."
"They even said that Ayao and I had a huge conflict with each other in Miami. This is really completely made up and pure bullsh*t."
Ocon insisted his relationship with Komatsu remains extremely strong.
"I came to this team because I've known Ayao for so long," he explained. "We have a great relationship. It's always been like that."
"What people say is not the case at all. I am fully focused on my work within the team. I also have a contract with the team."
A bullying campaign
Ocon admitted, however, that the scale of the rumours has affected him personally.
"I try not to pay too much attention to this, but when it gets that big, it is almost a form of bullying," Ocon said.
"I'm also only human, so it affects me too. It affects my family and my sponsors."
"It's disappointing that you can do so much damage to a driver's reputation in two or three days' time."
"These people just make things up and get away with that."
Ocon also referenced reports of an alleged Miami confrontation with Komatsu.
"We had a tricky weekend, so we discussed a lot of different things after the weekend to see how we can improve," he said. "But it was just a normal conversation. I don't know who's making this up."
There are suggestions the rumour began with a media article or social media post from Brazil.
Visibly angry, Ocon added: "It's better that I don't run into that guy, because he'll get a big blow."
Komatsu joins the fight
Haas boss Komatsu then launched an extraordinary attack on the media over the controversy.
"If someone wants to write such crap, go ahead, but what the hell is journalism? I don't get it, it's appalling," said the Japanese.
"Esteban is starting to worry, his manager is starting to worry," he said. "But we were smiling and talking about it this morning."
"When I was a kid, I wanted to be an investigative journalist," Komatsu added. "And when I read stuff like that, I think 'aren't you ashamed of yourself for writing this?'"
"Any media outlet that publishes such nonsense loses all credibility in my eyes."
Haas F1, quick reference
| F1 debut | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Constructors titles | 0 |
| Drivers titles | 0 |
| 2026 line-up | Esteban Ocon, Oliver Bearman |
| Team principal | Ayao Komatsu (since 2024) |
See also: Haas F1 hub on F1-Fansite.
Related: Ralf Schumacher: Haas could lose Ocon and Bearman
2 F1 Fan comments on “Ocon and Komatsu reject Haas exit rumours in Montreal”
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And Tps never talk bollox do they....
I’m more than happy that both Ocon & Komatsu decided to put the person or people in their places for making up stuff in such an overboard manner.
Honestly, that’s pretty much my general feeling about speculation within the F1 circles, given how many things are claimed without any foundation whatsoever, as if literally anything could or would be true.
Many things are simply too unrealistic to be or prove true, not to mention people contradict each other by claiming differently about the same thing, even though only one aspect could possibly be true, rather than everything at once.
When I first saw the claim about a dispute, I immediately knew it couldn’t be true at all, although Julianne Cerasoli clarified that she didn’t claim anything like this in the first place.
She was simply misinterpreted or mistranslated, probably half-intentionally to stir the pot.
Ocon was also right to point out that pace has been a non-issue for the most part, with factors beyond his control affecting his total points tally, which therefore doesn’t reflect the full picture, while the whole team struggled in Miami with both drivers still roughly matched in all competitive sessions bar the sprint qualifying.
In reality, he’d get sacked after this season only if he actually started to flop, which is unlikely, rather than for the sake of changing, regardless of performance level, & even more so given the absence of definitively superior options in the first place, while only the Ferrari-affiliated Camara & Beganovic could even prove to be comparatively superior options, but no one else, & most certainly no former full-time driver.
On the other hand, I didn’t know that Komatsu wanted to be an investigative journalist in the distant past.