Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has broken his silence on the decision to remove Esteban Ocon from the remainder of the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix weekend. The American outfit replaced the Frenchman with reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa ahead of Saturday’s sessions but offered no detailed explanation for the sudden change.
Komatsu has now addressed the situation, accepted responsibility for the decision and revealed that team owner Gene Haas supported his call.
“I take full responsibility for it. For now, the decision has been made for this weekend only,” Komatsu told Canal+. The Japanese team principal also insisted that replacing Ocon was the only decision he could make under the circumstances.
Although he acknowledged the serious consequences, he revealed that team owner Gene Haas backed his decision.
Ayao Komatsu Still Refuses To Issue Full Disclosure on Esteban Ocon’s Mexican GP Ouster
Haas announced the driver change on Saturday, October 31, shortly before the third practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Hirakawa took over the VF-26 for the remainder of the Mexican GP, including qualifying and Sunday’s race.
The announcement came less than 24 hours after Ocon completed FP2, where he finished 13th. Hirakawa had already driven Ocon’s car on Friday for the first practice session, finishing 15th.
Although the team confirmed that Ocon’s absence was not related to illness, it did not disclose the reason behind the move. Attention quickly turned to a tense radio exchange between the 30-year-old F1 driver and his race engineer, Laura Mueller, during FP2.
Ocon expressed frustration after Mueller informed him about a change to his running plan, which involved switching from soft to medium tires. However, neither Haas nor Komatsu confirmed that the disagreement caused the subsequent driver change.
While Komatsu still refuses to disclose the reason behind Ocon’s ouster, he admits the decision had ‘major consequences.’ The team boss, however, maintains it was the only option left to him.
“It’s an important decision, with major consequences and a big impact. It wasn’t an easy choice to make. But at the same time, I was convinced it was the only decision to take,” he said.
Gene Haas Supports Komatsu as Esteban Ocon’s Next Move Remains Unclear
Komatsu also explained that he had discussed the circumstances with Gene Haas before making the decision. “I explained the situation to Gene Haas and its consequences, and Gene backed me,” Komatsu stated.
The biggest uncertainty concerns whether Ocon will return to the Haas cockpit for the Brazilian Grand Prix. The team principal maintains that the decision to replace Ocon, ‘for now,’ is limited to the Mexican GP weekend. However, the final decision is yet to arrive from the team’s official channels.
“For now, the decision has been made for this weekend only. I don’t know if I’ll ever tell the story. For now, I can’t say anything,” he added.
Ocon’s departure from Haas at the end of 2026 was already confirmed, with Rafael Camara set to take his place next season.
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