The Haas Formula 1 team may have entered 2025 with an all-new driver line-up, but team principal Ayao Komatsu says much of its current unity can be traced back to the influence of its former driver Nico Hulkenberg.
Hulkenberg, who joined Haas in 2023 after a stint away from the sport, spent two seasons with the American outfit before moving to Sauber this year. During that time, Komatsu believes, the experienced German played a key role in building a foundation of trust and cooperation that continues to benefit the team today.
This season, Haas brought in veteran Esteban Ocon alongside rookie Oliver Bearman. The pair have collected 35 points from the first 14 rounds, leaving the team ninth in the constructors’ standings.
Ocon’s past relationships with teammates have occasionally been strained, but Komatsu says the 2025 pairing has gelled well – even after a costly flashpoint at the British Grand Prix, when the two collided in the wet-to-dry conditions.
“Honestly, both of them have been great team players,” Komatsu recently told reporters.
“Silverstone was a very specific circumstance where there was only one dry line, so it caused the issue.
But none of them were intentional. We had a very good chat and it was totally fine.”
Spa Showed the Spirit of Cooperation
Komatsu highlighted last month’s Belgian Grand Prix as a perfect example of the mutual respect that prevails within the Haas garage.
“Even before that point, every single time we had to issue a team order, every single time, there were zero questions,” he explained. “They do it straight away.
©Haas
“In Spa, before the sprint, we were next to each other. P5 and P7. I spoke to both of them before the sprint, ‘[Here is] what we are going to do’. Totally clear.
“No issue whatsoever. Then we had to split the downforce level for the main qualifying and the race, because of uncertainty with the weather.
“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 so much quicker than the other.
“So we sat down, the three of us talked. It was totally clear. In the race, Esteban just said I’ll let Olli pass now. We didn't even ask, that's it.”
Hulkenberg’s Lasting Influence
While the headlines this year have been about the current line-up, Komatsu has repeatedly emphasised that Hulkenberg’s professionalism during his Haas tenure helped shape the team culture that allows such cooperation to thrive.
By fostering open communication and a solutions-first mentality, Hulkenberg’s example appears to have set the tone for Haas’ 2025 drivers — a tone Komatsu is determined to preserve as the team continues its rebuild.
“You can ask Nico why did he perform so well last year? We really had a very, very good relationship.
“I’ve been doing this for 22 years, or something like this. Last year, the relationship we built with Nico gave me a new baseline,” explained the Haas chief.
“This is what we need to achieve with any driver, because then that’s a performing environment.
©Haas
“Everyone is a human being. If a driver doesn't trust the team, the team doesn’t trust the driver, if you feel this decision is forced upon me, of course, it's not going to be the best.
“It’s not even a racing thing. It's just a more fundamental human quality. Respect, transparency, honesty, inclusion. All that is what we're trying to build inside this team.
“Esteban had experienced many years in F1, good and bad. Now I feel like we have got this foundation.
“Of course, it's something you’ve got to build on every single time. It’s not like ‘Okay, we got there. Fine, forget about it’.
“No, every situation is different. Every scenario is different. We are doing that, I think fundamental trust there.”
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