Haas boss Ayao Komatsu has delivered an extraordinary rant, criticising the “absolute bullshit” rumours that he was seeking to replace Esteban Ocon during the 2026 season.
Between the Miami and Canadian GPs, it was claimed in multiple languages that Ocon and Komatsu had fallen out during the Miami weekend, and that Yuki Tsunoda was a potential candidate to replace the French driver.
Ocon himself branded those claims as “fabricated” before Komatsu addressed the media, and launched into an expletive-laden rant.
Below, ApexF1News has transcribed Komatsu in full.
WARNING: The quotes below contain multiple expletives.
“I honestly don’t know where that story came from, no idea, this Brazilian journalist was quoted, but I have no idea, there is no foundation whatsoever, it is absolute bullshit,” Komatsu told media, including ApexF1News.
“So if somebody wants to write that kind of bullshit, feel free, but fucking hell, is that journalism? I have no idea, it is terrible, what they’re trying to achieve is crazy, there is no foundation whatsoever.
“I spoke to [Esteban on Thursday] morning, but for me, there is nothing to defend from our side whatsoever.
“It says apparently that I had some kind of issue with Esteban in Miami, but where has that come from? I didn’t have a single argument with Esteban in Miami. It is just amazing how this bullshit gets smoked up, and then because nobody checks the source, everybody lies on top of it.
“How is that a journalist? It is just fucking bullshit gossip.
“It is a complete waste of time. Esteban gets worried, his manager gets worried, and Esteban knows that we haven’t had an argument in Miami, and we were smiling when we talked about it, like: ‘What the fuck is that about?’
“So I said I can completely clarify this to everyone, because it is absolute utter shite, total bullshit, but it is just something we don’t need.
“Then it gets written in Japanese, but this Brazilian journalist was quoted, but I haven’t read what this Brazilian journalist got, so the Japanese translation, how accurate it was, I have no idea, and lots of Japanese sites they really want to create shit about that I might take Yuki [Tsunoda as a replacement for Oocn], that has got zero foundation.
“But then some French journalists pick it up, and it is like: ‘Fucking hell, you are a French journalist, so what are you trying to do to your country’s driver by picking up that story to get traction? Are you trying to put your French driver down? Like, what is the purpose?’
“It is just bullshit. If you write your story, you check your source.
“When I was a kid, I wanted to be an investigative journalist, so when I read things like this, it is like: ‘Fucking hell, are you not embarrassed by what you are writing?’
“Then by writing bullshit like this with no foundation, you lose credibility. Any media that runs that kind of bullshit story loses credibility in my mind, and it is not even twisting my words; there are zero facts and nothing to do with what I said, because I didn’t say any of that.
When then asked about the future of the Haas driver line-up for the 2027 season, Komatsu steered clear of the question.
“Around now time, May, June, July time, I think everybody is looking at next year’s drivers, it is not just us, but everyone.”
He was then pushed further, being asked if he had to decide immediately on his decision, what he would choose to do, before shutting down the question.
“I think a question like this is going to create some shit, right?” he said.
“Because people will take my words and say: ‘Oh, if you’re going to decide if you are going to continue with Esteban or not continue with Esteban,’ they will take it completely out of context, so I am not going to answer that question.”
