{"id":64258,"date":"2025-08-13T15:20:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T15:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/64258\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T15:20:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T15:20:10","slug":"why-komatsu-believes-ocon-has-put-questions-about-his-not-a-team-player-image-to-rest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/64258\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Komatsu believes Ocon has put questions about his “not a team player” image to rest"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a scene in the latest season of Drive to Survive where Ayao Komatsu is challenged by one of his staff members on whether signing Esteban Ocon<\/a> was the right decision for the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you fully 100% sure that Ocon is a good fit for us?\u201d the Japanese manager is asked.<\/p>\n

Signing the Frenchman, with his reputation as \u201cnot a team player\u201d raised questions both in the media and internally. The deal was announced a few months after Ocon\u2019s collision with his then-team-mate Pierre Gasly<\/a> in Monaco, which attracted heavy criticism \u2013 to the point that some speculated the Alpine<\/a> management might even bench him for the following race in Canada.<\/p>\n

Concerns that Ocon could be difficult to manage sparked questions about whether replacing Haas\u2019 long-time stalwart Kevin Magnussen<\/a> was the right move.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main thing for me is his work ethic. You can see he can race. So, I am pretty confident he was the best choice,\u201d Komatsu said at the time, addressing the team. In an on-camera interview, he added: \u201cFor drivers to perform, they need to be comfortable with the environment, and I believe as Haas F1 team<\/a> we are providing that environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Esteban <\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team<\/p>\n

Photo by: Simon Galloway \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

A year later, Komatsu feels he doesn\u2019t even need to justify the move. Ocon, he believes, has proven enough to the team and outside critics that doubts about his approach were misplaced.<\/p>\n

The clearest evidence of Ocon\u2019s work ethic, Komatsu says, came at Spa, where the Frenchman voluntarily let his team-mate Oliver Bearman<\/a> through because he felt the British driver was faster.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely, yes,\u201d Komatsu told Autosport when asked if Ocon had eliminated all doubts about being a reliable team player. \u201cDid you not see it [at Spa]?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ocon, running 11th in the first part of the race, was on a low-downforce set-up as the team had decided to split the approach between the two cars. On the damp track, he was struggling to keep up and ultimately decided to let his team-mate pass.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was holding him up in the middle sector quite a lot and I was damaging my tyres much more,\u201d Ocon explained after the race<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Esteban <\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team<\/p>\n

Photo by: Peter Fox \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

To Komatsu, there was no clearer proof.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t even have to give a team order,\u201d Komatsu said. \u201cEsteban let Ollie pass by himself. That’s the answer for you. Honestly, both of them have been great team players.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that when you guys [the media] were asking about this at the end of last year, I said that I was confident, but I wasn’t saying that just to be saying it. I really believed that if we build up a foundation with trust and respect between the drivers and the team, if that foundation is there \u2013 because we’re not going to do everything right every time, some team orders we issue might be a mistake – but as long as we’ve got that foundation of trust, transparency, and respect, none of it will escalate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Komatsu insists both of his current drivers are always ready to play their team roles, with clear rules about differing strategies defined through internal discussions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to split the downforce level for the main qualifying and race [at Spa] because of uncertainty on the weather, etc. Then, Sunday morning, we had a chat because with that much difference in the downforce level, at a certain point, one car is going to be much quicker than the other. So, we sat down, the three of us talked – totally clear. Therefore, in the race, Esteban just said, \u2018I\u2019m going to let Ollie pass now.\u2019 [We] didn’t even ask. That’s it. So, that’s your answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even when Ocon and Bearman collided during the race at Silverstone, it didn\u2019t cause any controversy \u2013 despite the team losing points.<\/p>\n

\"Esteban <\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team<\/p>\n

Photo by: Sam Bloxham \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cSilverstone was a very specific circumstance where there was only one dry line, so it caused an issue, but none of them were intentional,\u201d Komatsu explained. \u201cI had a very good chat [with the drivers], totally fine, but even before that point, every single time we had to issue a team order, driver swap, every single time: zero question, [they] do it straight away. Brilliant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we make mistakes, we’re going to talk about it after the race in a completely open manner, like we did in Silverstone. Both drivers touching each other, that’s not what we wanted to do. But we sat down, we talked about it, we all said our observations, our opinions. We said, this is what we’re going to do going forward. Zero issues.”<\/p>\n

For Komatsu, it all boils down to building those relationships on top a base layer of mutual trust between team and driver, which had eroded for Ocon elsewhere. But that remains an on-going process.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, that’s the key, just the foundation. Just the trust, transparency, respect,\u201c he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone’s a human being. If the driver doesn’t trust the team, the team doesn’t trust the driver. If you felt, let’s say, \u2018this decision is forced upon me,\u2019 of course it’s not going to be the best in terms of human being. So it’s not even a racing thing. It’s just more fundamental human quality. Respect, transparency, honesty, inclusion. All that, to be honest, is what we’re trying to build inside this team.<\/p>\n

\u201cEsteban had experienced many years in Formula 1, good and bad, but now I feel like we’ve got this foundation. Of course, it’s something you’ve got to build on every single time, but we are doing that. So I think fundamental trust is there.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this article<\/p>\n

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