Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu Focuses on Current Drivers

Ayao Komatsu is not in the mood to play the driver-market game.

While the rest of the paddock whispers about 2027 and shuffles names on whiteboards, the Haas Team Principal has parked the speculation. His priority, he insists, is not who might sit in the car in three years’ time, but how to give the two drivers he already has a fighting chance in a season that has slipped away.

“We’re not in any rush,” he said before the Dutch Grand Prix. “We’re focused on our two drivers, Ollie and Esteban, trying to get the best out of them.”

On paper, the picture looks simple. Ollie Bearman has 18 points, Esteban Ocon just three. In reality, it’s anything but.

A bright start, then a brutal fall

Haas opened the campaign as one of the surprise stories of the year. Bearman’s P5 at the Chinese Grand Prix felt like a statement: the smallest team on the grid landing a heavyweight punch in the early weeks of a new era of regulations.

That high-water mark didn’t last.

As the development race gathered pace, the midfield closed ranks and then surged past. Racing Bulls and Alpine, direct benchmarks for Haas, have pulled clear. The American outfit, once a nuisance at the edge of the top ten, has tumbled backwards.

Six consecutive races without a point tell the story bluntly. The Dutch Grand Prix underlined the malaise with a double DNF, the kind of weekend that drains morale as much as it wrecks statistics.

Komatsu does not hide from the scale of the task.

“This is the biggest regulation change ever,” he said. “So us being the smallest team, we expect that we’re going to really be struggling to keep up with the other big boys in the development race.

“We started the season extremely well, much better than anyone can think of, and then from that moment I think that’s the reality. With our constraints, we’re trying to develop the car as fast as possible, but the other guys are putting performance on the car faster than us. That’s the reality.”

Bearman vs Ocon – a distorted scoreboard

Within that wider struggle, the internal battle between Bearman and Ocon has become a subplot, and a slightly misleading one.

Bearman’s 18–3 advantage in the standings looks emphatic. The rookie has the headline result, the points column, and the momentum. Ocon, a Grand Prix winner and a proven operator, sits marooned.

Even Bearman, though, has suggested the numbers don’t tell the whole story, pointing to “inconsistency” between the parts on each car. The machinery, he argues, has not always been equal, making direct comparison tricky.

Komatsu’s stance reflects that nuance. He knows what both drivers can deliver when the car allows it.

“You know what they’re capable of,” he said. “Ollie has shown it repeatedly. Esteban, when he is happy with the car, you know what he can do.

“So we need to really just focus on providing them with the best possible car, best set-up adaptation, and get the best out of them. And then both of our drivers are fully focused.”

Behind the scenes, the long-term picture is less forgiving. Neither seat is locked in for 2027. Bearman is understood to be the likelier of the two to stay, with Rafael Camara and Yuki Tsunoda among those hovering in the frame if Haas decides to reset its line-up.

Komatsu, though, refuses to be drawn into a public audition.

Fighting the numbers, not each other

The reality is harsh: Haas are being out-developed. In an era where upgrades arrive almost every race, a small team’s margin for error is close to zero.

“Then, to be fair, honestly, it’s nothing against the guys in the team – they’re doing a fantastic job, they’re working together,” Komatsu said. “For us to have a chance to keep up with the other guys, everything has to be perfect, right? Everything. In life, that’s not something you can ask for all the time.”

That’s the bind. The staff, in Komatsu’s eyes, are over-performing relative to their size and resources. The regulations and the sheer speed of development from rivals are unforgiving.

He has responded by doubling down on culture. No finger-pointing. No public scapegoats. No easy targets in the cockpit.

“I really do think I need to provide them with a better environment, facilitate it, so that they can show what they’re capable of. I’m sure of that. But the good thing is those tough times show the character, right? And then there’s no blame culture.

“We looked at the problem: what’s the issue, where are we lacking downforce, why the drivability is not great, what are the drivers struggling with? We’re all on the same page, trying to fix the issue, trying to put performance on the car. But of course, again, that takes time.”

Time is the one commodity the midfield rarely grants. Every race weekend exposes the gap. Every upgrade from a rival stretches it.

Komatsu insists the groundwork is being laid.

“Lots of things we’re putting in place will take time for it to materialise,” he said. “But we’ve just got to believe in ourselves, the teamwork, support each other, and we’ll get through it like we did the last two years.”

The driver market will keep circling. Names like Camara and Tsunoda will continue to be linked. Bearman will push to cement his status; Ocon will fight to prove the table lies.

Haas, though, have a more immediate question to answer: can they stop this slide before the rest of the midfield disappears from view?