On Thursday in Montreal, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu didn’t merely deny reports of a fallout with Esteban Ocon – he detonated them with the subtlety of a grenade tossed into the media center coffee machine.
A fallacious story had claimed that tensions had boiled over in Miami between Komatsu and Ocon, with suggestions the Frenchman’s seat at Haas could even come under threat.
Then came the second layer of intrigue: whispers that Yuki Tsunoda might be lurking in the wings, ready to jump ship from the Red Bull Racing orbit into Toyota-aligned territory.
Komatsu’s reaction? Pure fury.
“Honestly I don’t know where that story came from, no idea,” said Komatsu. “This Brazilian journalist was quoted, but I have no idea. No foundation whatsoever, absolute bull***.
“If somebody wants to write that kind of bull*** feel free, but f****** hell, is that journalism? I have no idea, it’s terrible. What are they trying to achieve? It’s crazy, no foundation whatsoever.
“Have any of you heard me saying anything like that? It’s incredible.”
By Thursday morning in Montreal, Komatsu had already sat down with Ocon and the Frenchman’s management team to extinguish the nonsense before it spiraled any further.
The irony, according to the Haas boss, was that there had never been anything to extinguish in the first place.
“I spoke to him this morning, but for me there's like nothing to defend from our side whatsoever. So the part of it, it says apparently I had like some issue with Esteban in Miami,” Komatsu added.
©Haas
“Where’s that come from? I didn’t even have a single argument with Esteban in Miami. It’s just amazing how completely this bull*** gets smoked up, and then, because nobody checks the source, then everybody just writes on top of it. How is that journalism? It’s just f****** bull***, gossip.”
What clearly enraged Komatsu most wasn’t just the rumor itself — it was the speed with which it snowballed across the media without anyone seemingly stopping to ask whether there was a shred of truth behind it.
And according to him, the consequences weren’t harmless.
“A complete waste of time,” he said. “Esteban gets worried, his manager gets worried. Esteban knows that we haven’t had any argument in Miami, at least a specific thing. This morning we were smiling and talked about it. What the f*** is that about?
“So I said I’m going to just completely clarify this to everyone, because it’s absolute utter s****, total bull***. It’ just something we don’t need, right?”
As if one fabricated paddock drama wasn’t enough, the rumor mill also decided to bolt Tsunoda into the story, linking the Japanese driver with a possible future move to Haas.
Komatsu looked about as impressed with that theory as a man discovering a puncture on the formation lap.
“And then I think it gets written in Japanese. I haven’t actually read what this Brazilian journalist wrote, so Japanese translation, how inaccurate is it? I have no idea,” he explained.
“And also, like, lots of Japanese sites, they really want to create s***, like, I’d like to take Yuki or something. That’s got zero foundation.
“So I don’t take any notice. But then some French journalists pick it up. It’s like, f****** hell, if you’re a French journalist, what you trying to do to your country’s driver by picking up stories like trying to get some traction? Are you trying to put your French driver down? It’s like, what is the purpose? It’s just bull****”
Komatsu’s outrage carried an extra sting because journalism, he admitted, was once a profession he admired deeply.
“When I was a kid I wanted to be an investigative journalist. So, when I read things like it’s like f****** hell, are you not embarrassed about what you’re writing?” he said.
“And then, by writing bull**** like this with no foundation, you lose credibility completely right. Any media runs that kind of bull**** story loses credibility in my mind anyway. It’s not even like twisting my words.
“There’s zero facts, nothing to do with what I said, because I didn’t say any of that. It’s incredible.”
By the end of the rant, one thing was unmistakably clear: whatever tensions may exist inside Haas right now, they are not between Komatsu and Ocon.
But between Komatsu and the rumor merchants of the Formula 1 media circus? That fight is very much alive.
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