Singled out after a first season deemed disappointing by Ayao Komatsu, Esteban Ocon accepts his share of responsibility but points out that the difficulties also stemmed from a persistent technical problem within the Haas team.
Komatsu criticizes, Ocon responds bluntly
The director of Haas, Ayao Komatsu, acknowledged his disappointment with the performances ofEsteban Ocon in 2025, stating that " No one is satisfied with Esteban's sporting results "after a season in which the Frenchman was statistically outclassed by the rookie" Oliver Bearman.
This statement, however, did not surprise the person most concerned. Ayao's comments didn't really surprise me. We talked a lot during the winter. ", has explained Or with.
The French driver emphasizes a point often overlooked in criticism: collective responsibility: If you read the entire article and not just the headline, you can see that the team also took responsibility – Ayao said it was 50-50.
According to Or withHis difficulties stemmed neither from a lack of confidence nor from a problem adapting to the car's style, but from a recurring issue with the front axle and braking:
"For 12, 13, 14 races, I had this problem with the front end locking up and instability. It was very different on the other side of the garage."
He also specifies:
"The brake pressure was similar, both cars were in similar conditions – wheel lock-up for me, not for the other."
This technical malfunction would have heavily impacted his consistency throughout the season.
The situation was finally resolved during the final race in Abu Dhabi, after internal adjustments to the car. “Whatever changes we made in Abu Dhabi… the car suddenly came back to life.” told Or with.
Immediate result: "Excellent Q3, seventh place in the race, which is exactly what we needed for the whole season."
A resurgence in performance that reinforces the idea of'ua structural problem rather than one purely related to the pilot.
Despite an up-and-down season, Or with adopts a collective and forward-looking discourse. The season has been up and down for the whole team. It hasn't been easy.
He concludes with a clear line for his second year at Haas : "IThere are things we missed as a team… I expect us to leave last year behind us.
Far from denying the criticisms, Esteban Ocon adopts a clear but firm line: his 2025 season at Haas cannot be reduced to a simple individual underperformance. Between persistent technical problems, shared responsibility with the team, and a late breakthrough at the end of the year, the Frenchman believes that his true potential was only glimpsed in Abu Dhabi. Now free from these constraints, Or with approaches 2026 with the clear objective of starting again on a sound footing and proving that past difficulties were more a result of the overall context than of its management.
