Haas boss Ayao Komatsu fears that the team’s surprising lack of pace at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix is not a “one-off”.

It was a wretched race weekend for the American outfit, which started with rookie Oliver Bearman crashing his VF-25 during the first practice session of 2025.

Haas finished 19th and 20th during FP1 and FP2 before going on to qualify in the same positions for the Grand Prix.

Starting from the pit lane, Bearman avoided the chaos in tricky wet-weather conditions and managed to keep his car on track to finish in 14th place on Sunday – the last of the classified competitors.

His team-mate, Esteban Ocon, finished just ahead of him after starting the race from 19th place.

After focusing on long-run pace and tyre management exploration during Bahrain pre-season testing, it was left unclear as to how Haas would compare performance-wise to the rest of the grid.

But after Friday, Komatsu revealed to Motorsport.com how he was left stunned by the Banbury-based squad’s lack of performance.

“I don’t think it’s a one-off,” he said.

“It was a big surprise, we weren’t expecting that whatsoever based on Bahrain testing.

“Bahrain testing wasn’t perfect, but we weren’t expecting it anywhere near as bad as Melbourne.

“In FP1, on a very fast lap when the car went out, I thought either something was broken or something is completely out of the ballpark.

“Then when we established, right, nothing’s broken, we’ve got a big issue.”

Haas expects high-speed corner issues to continue in 2025

The 49-year-old went on to explain how the team discovered the issue at hand and how it went about addressing its lack of performance.

”It was pretty clear the problem was in high speed, Turn 9, Turn 10,” Komatsu added.

”Then we just worked and worked to make those corners better with the expense of low speed.

”But even then, low-speed corners are okay, not great – but compared to the issue we had in Turns 9 and 10, it’s night and day.

”So then by Q1, we managed to get Turn 9 more or less respectable but Turn 10, still nowhere.

”We understand why, but with the issues we have, we cannot solve it for all corners, right?

”So I think at least we took [the] correct steps during the weekend.”

Komatsu confirmed that Haas would continue to find solutions this year instead of focusing on 2026 with the new regulations set to come into force.

He believes that the car’s problems were down to its interface with the ground at low ride heights.

However, the motorsport executive noted that Haas would have to endure challenges at several races due to the severity of the problems.

He added: ”I think that’s the best we could do with the Melbourne circuit characteristics, that our car’s weakness that we discovered in Melbourne and then characteristics of Turn 10 as a corner.

”The next point is to understand which part of the car we need to modify, or which part of the car has the sensitivity to solve this performance issue.

”So up to this point, we are reasonably clear.

”Then of course, next is, how are we going to find a solution?

Some of them can be reasonably short-term solutions, but some of them will be an iterative process, both in CFD and wind tunnel.

“So you’re not going to see a solution for some races – it’s pretty severe.”

READ MORE: How F1 Australian GP practice exposed Haas weaknesses

The post Ayao Komatsu fears Australia not a ‘one-off’ for underperforming Haas appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Haas suffered a difficult start to the 2025 Formula 1 season after finishing at the bottom of the timing sheets in both Friday practice sessions at the Australian Grand Prix.

Haas played its cards close to its chest in pre-season testing, committing to high-fuel run plans and avoiding quali sims, a tactic that paid dividends last year.

Speaking on Thursday, Esteban Ocon was in good spirits heading into the Australian Grand Prix, noting that Haas had discovered issues in testing but had a clear path.

“I think our first two days of the test, we felt very good with the car,” Ocon told select media including Motorsport Week.

“It was very solid, I was happy with it.

“The last day was a bit more difficult for us. We know exactly where we have to improve straight away and where the strong point of the car is.

“It is very clear to us, which is a very good thing. From the first day, we’ve managed to put the finger on where we needed to improve, and that’s good.”

Despite the former Alpine driver remaining confident, the cracks began to appear for Haas in Australia.

First, Oliver Bearman crashed heavily during FP1 as he lost control of his VF-25 into the gravel trap before careering into the barriers.

The British driver wasn’t able to return to the track with his Haas car, requiring repairs, and he missed the second practice session as the team was forced to change the gearbox and engine due to extensive damage.

Ocon didn’t fare any better on the other side of the garage, finishing 19th in both Frdiay sessions, as it became apparent the Banbury-based squad had not managed to improve in the areas previously mentioned by the Frenchman.

Haas chief reflects on ‘pretty difficult day’

Team Principal Ayao Komatsu admitted that he was left surprised by the team’s showing on Friday.

“Today was a pretty difficult day; it wasn’t the performance we were expecting,” Komatsu said.

“We have one indication as to why in FP1, but Ollie crashed, so we couldn’t completely get to the bottom of why we were uncompetitive.

“So we need to make another step tonight and then do the best we can tomorrow.”

After missing out on crucial track time, Bearman offered an explanation as to why he suffered a huge shunt on the streets of Melbourne.

“It wasn’t a case of feeling, honestly,” he said.

“The feeling was good, I think just wanting a bit too much too soon.

“It is just kind of my approach isn’t the right one for F1.

“In F2, you go straight to quali after the first practice session; in F1 you have two more [practice sessions].

“So there’s no need to be straight on the limit.”

Ocon, however, was once again looking on the bright side as he felt Haas had made strides forward after the opening day.

“We did a really good step from FP1 to FP2,” the 28-year-old explained.

“Yes, it doesn’t look shiny on the timing page, that’s very true, but the car improved quite well from FP1 to FP2.

“There are still some things that we know we can find, and there is margin for us to improve.”

Given the absence of qualifying runs in testing, it remains to be seen whether Friday was a true indicator of Haas’ underlying pace, or a sign of more troubles to come.

No doubt the squad will be looking to bounce back in qualifying.

READ MORE: Is Haas ready to bounce back from testing failures?

The post How F1 Australian GP practice exposed Haas weaknesses appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Esteban Ocon has recounted how he experienced an “initial shock” when he first drove a Formula 1 car with a Ferrari engine during his debut outing with Haas.

Ocon is embarking on a new chapter in his career in 2025 having elected to bring an end his extensive association with Alpine prior to signing a multi-term deal with Haas.

Among the notable changes Ocon has had to adapt to since his move is the Ferrari powertrain compared to the Mercedes and Renault units that he’d been accustomed to.

The Frenchman has admitted that provided a surprise when he conducted his inaugural run with Haas in the squad’s 2024-spec VF-24 in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi.

But although he wouldn’t be drawn on the contrasts between the respective engines, Ocon highlighted that there are “positive” elements to the Italian marque’s powertrain.

“Yeah, of course there are differences,” Ocon told media including Motorsport Week during pre-season testing in Bahrain.

“I’m not going to comment about the differences itself, but there’s a lot of positives with the Ferrari power units and initially it’s a very different way of using all the systems.

“But we’ve simplified a lot and it now feels a lot more common to how I would have imagined to use it.

“It was a bit of a shock initially in Abu Dhabi, but on track, performance-wise, it’s working super well and it fits very well with the strength of the car as well. So, yeah, all good on that side.”

Sainz admits engine adaptation ‘the biggest change’

Carlos Sainz, who has also switched teams over the winter, revealed the Mercedes power unit is the “biggest change” that he has had to acclimatise to at Williams.

“Definitely the thing you feel the most when you change teams, the moment there’s a power unit involved, it’s the power unit,” the ex-Ferrari driver explained. 

“The noises, the vibrations, the sound, everything just changes completely, so even if I went out on the pitch trying to understand the aerodynamics and the tyres and the feeling of the mechanical sides of the car, the only thing I could have to adapt for the first few laps was just how different a power unit can be. 

“So yeah, that’s probably the biggest change, also the way the power unit operates in terms of switches, especially nowadays in Formula 1 with so much going on on our steering wheels, with the deployment, the battery, things like this, procedures, safety procedures of the engine and the power unit, it’s definitely the biggest change that I’m having to adapt so far in Williams.”

READ MORE – Esteban Ocon now ‘speaking the same language’ as Haas team

The post Esteban Ocon recalls ‘initial shock’ with Ferrari F1 engine at Haas appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Esteban Ocon has admitted that he is now “speaking the same language” as his new colleagues at Haas prior to his race debut with the team in the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Ocon’s move to Haas is the fourth time that he has started with a new team in the sport, but it is the first occasion since he reunited with the Renault-owned operation in 2020.

The Frenchman had become accustomed to the Alpine-branded team’s methods having remained with the Anglo-French marque until an acrimonious departure last season.

With Haas the smallest team on the entire grid, Ocon has professed the preparation he has received in advance of the upcoming campaign has come as a positive surprise.

That has helped to ease his adaptation as he divulged that the initial language barrier that had existed during his initial technical discussions at Haas is no longer prevalent.

“I’ve been working in a way for five years now and you are so used to something that sometimes when you get told the same thing in a different way it can take a little bit of time for you to find out,” Ocon told select media including Motorsport Week in Bahrain last month.

“So we’ve discussed all these things and we’ve converged to now speaking the same language in a way.

“So yeah, I thought it was going to be tricky, but it got a lot smoother than expected on that sense, especially working on tyres.

“So it’s been good at the moment and as I said we need to obviously face more different circumstances and different things.”

Ocon backs Haas testing run programme

Ocon also encountered an alternative experience in pre-season testing amid Haas’ emphasis on racking up race runs with both him and rookie team-mate Oliver Bearman.

“At the moment trouble-free days, no issues, we kept focussing on long-run performance, which is the aim, which is what the team wants,” the one-time race winner highlighted.

“And I agree with the team that it’s a new way of working for me in testing.

“But it’s definitely nice to have a lot of laps, a lot of data, a lot of different runs like that and a little satisfaction as well to be the driver that did the most laps yesterday.”

Haas restructuring has been seamless

Ocon’s arrival has coincided with a sizeable restructuring at Haas as it strives to iron out the operational errors that boss Ayao Komatsu believes cost it sixth place in 2024.

The most notable change comprised Laura Mueller being appointed the first female F1 race engineer to Ocon, who revealed that the transition has gone seamlessly to date.

“It’s been super smooth and I think that’s because the people that have been put in those positions have been super well prepared and trained,” he explained.

“Of course, when you come to the race weekend it’s always different and everybody can do mistakes, including myself.

“It’s very normal but at the moment, I’ve been learning things every single time I went out and we’ve been having very open conversations with Laura, with Francesco [Nenci], with everyone.

And it’s been going well and I’m happy with the team that we’ve got obviously going forward.”

READ MORE – Esteban Ocon says ‘no one’ can use soon-to-be-compulsory F1 device

The post Esteban Ocon now ‘speaking the same language’ as Haas team appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu has explained how Esteban Ocon is “setting the benchmark” for his rookie Formula 1 team-mate Oliver Bearman.

After two seasons with Grand Prix veterans, Haas has an all-new driver line-up for 2025 in Ocon and Bearman.

The duo is an exciting partnership for Haas, a proven winner eager for further success and an exciting rookie who stunned the world during his stand-in appearances last season.

Reflecting on their integration at Haas during pre-season testing, Komatsu revealed to select media including Motorsport Week how Ocon is setting a great example to Bearman.

“Yeah, it’s [been] really good, really good,” Komatsu said of working with his new drivers.

“Esteban’s exactly what we expected. He’s really determined, motivated, has attention to detail, working really hard with engineers. 

“[He’s] very, very easy to work with and very precise. And also the tyre management, he’s very good, [with] really good experience.

“So it’s really good that he’s kind of like setting the benchmark for Ollie in that respect. 

“Even the qualifying simulation, you saw how strong Ollie was last year in qualifying, but even then, with the new car, adapting to it, et cetera, it’s really good to have somebody like Esteban to set the benchmark.”

Ocon and Bearman ‘collaborating’ well

Komatsu didn’t stop short of just praising Ocon and hailed the approach that Bearman has applied to the step up to a permanent race drive in F1.

The Briton has the benefit of two Grands Prix and multiple FP1 appearances with Haas last year and Komatsu has enjoyed working with his rookie star,

“Ollie, again, is very good to work with,” he said.

“He’s a positive guy and then, again, hardworking, very, very open.”

Speaking of his team-mate ahead of the F1 75 season launch event, Bearman said “It’s been nice to get to know [Ocon].

“He’s of course got a lot of experience in F1 that I can take and learn from, so I’m excited for our season together.”

Of the duo’s relationship together, Komatsu added that “both of them just are collaborating very well as well.

“So far, it’s been really nice, really nice.”

With Haas widely expected to be at the forefront of F1’s midfield in 2025, having drivers in harmony will be key to the team’s success.

Both Hulkenberg and Magnussen played the team game well in 2024 and the word from Haas’ boss suggests that trend is set to continue with the team’s new line-up.

READ MORE – Haas’ line-up pits experience versus youth with Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman

The post How Esteban Ocon is ‘setting the benchmark’ for Oliver Bearman at Haas appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu isn’t concerned by rookie Oliver Bearman’s limited qualifying prep during Formula 1 pre-season testing thanks to the prowess he showed in 2024.

Bearman is one of five classified rookies heading into 2025 but the 19-year-old Briton already has three GP starts under his belt.

In 2024, Bearman raced for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia as Carlos Sainz underwent treatment for appendicitis and deputised for Kevin Magnussen at Haas in Baku and Interlagos.

Those three qualifying sessions showed Komatsu all he needed in terms of Bearman’s qualifying readiness, which is why he isn’t worried that Haas’ typical testing programme focussed almost entirely on high fuel, long mileage stints.

“You saw him in qualifying last year,” Komatsu told select media including Motorsport Week. 

“I don’t think he did badly. Back then he out-qualified Nico [Hulkenberg]. 

“Interlagos, Sprint weekend, FP1, then qualifying, he out-qualified Nico as well. 

I don’t treat him as a rookie in that sense.”

True enough, when Bearman jumped into the Ferrari SF-24 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit last year, he narrowly missed out on making Q3 after just an hour of practice to get up to speed.

In Baku, Bearman qualified 11th again, this time for Haas and two places ahead of the highly-regarded one lap specialist Hulkenberg and he was able to thwart the experienced German again over a single lap in Brazil.

Bearman ‘impatient’ to unlock Haas’ one-lap potential

Bearman admitted during testing amid his programme of high-fuel running that he is getting “impatient” with regards to unlocking Haas’ one-lap potential in Melbourne.

“I’m a little impatient and want to go for it as soon as possible but I understand that this running is very important and you know this kind of strategy of using all of these laps and doing as many laps as we can really worked for the team last year and I hope it does the same again,” he said. 

“Yeah as the run goes down and we always put a new set [of tyres] on I’m really excited to see what the car can do.”

Why Haas doesn’t focus on low-fuel testing miles

Haas’ tactic of high fuel, high mileage during testing is a tactic that paid dividends before.

As Bearman said, in 2024 it helped Haas develop a car adept at tyre management, something its 2023 predecessor was catastrophically bad at.

Continuing with that methodology in this year’s pre-season testing, Komatsu explained its advantages.

“We just focused on getting answers that you cannot get during a race weekend,” he said.

“[On] race weekend you never have two sets of the same tyre compound. 

“You do low, low, high, then low, low, high, then low, low, then qualifying.

“It’s almost impossible to get answers on some test items that have a certain influence on tyre degradation and high fuel management. 

“That’s what we focused on.”

READ MORE – Why Haas isn’t treating Oliver Bearman like a ‘normal rookie’ in F1 2025

The post Why Haas isn’t concerned by Oliver Bearman’s limited qualifying runs in F1 testing appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Esteban Ocon has revealed the preparation that he has received in the build-up to his debut campaign with Haas in Formula 1 in 2025 has exceeded his initial expectations.

Ocon is embarking upon a new chapter in his career with Haas in 2025 having parted with the Renault-owned Alpine side he had been associated with since 2020 last term.

The Frenchman departed the Anglo-French marque with a round to go, enabling him to participate in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi with his new side’s 2024-spec VF-24.

Last month, Ocon conducted a shakedown at Silverstone with the VF-25, Haas’ 2025 challenger which he and team-mate Oliver Bearman drove in the sole pre-season test.

But with restricted running available to the drivers during testing, Haas was among the teams that took pre-emptive measures in advance with an outing in a previous car.

The Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) scheme permits mileage in machines older than two seasons, which Haas utilised to give both drivers laps in the 2023 VF-23 at Jerez.

The American squad’s inaugural TPC run derived from an alliance with Toyota, the Japanese marque now providing technical support to the sport’s smallest organisation.

Ocon, who had not been informed about the partnership when he signed with the team, divulged that his adaptation at Haas has been more seamless than he envisaged.

Asked whether he had discovered surprises in his opening weeks with Haas, Ocon told select media including Motorsport Week: “Yeah, yeah, there’s been.

“I’m not going to go into details, but I was obviously thinking that we were going to be more restricted on my preparation, not being able to prepare as well as we did. 

“And we’ve been able to get the needs and what I needed. So yeah, all fine.”

Ocon pleased with Haas baseline in 2025

Haas is bidding to build on a promising season last time around which culminated in a three-place rise to seventh, though it sat as high as sixth with two rounds remaining. 

Despite the team placing an emphasis on long runs in testing, Ocon divulged that he could feel that the VF-25 is an improvement on the predecessor he piloted in December.

“Yeah, obviously very good to get a first feel,” he said. “I drove in Silverstone, but unfortunately it was snowing there so it wasn’t really the condition that we hoped for.

“But yeah, finally got to drive the car for the first time. There’s a lot of positive points that are better than what I remember in Abu Dhabi, clearly.

“So that’s obviously very positive, but very quickly we’ve spotted where we need to get a little bit more, where we need to improve the car and that’s obviously what I told Ollie and the team.

“And it’s also been good to be working in real conditions with the team, with the traffic, with how it would run on a normal race weekend with all the tools etc.”

READ MORE – The ‘late Christmas present’ Haas delivered to Esteban Ocon

The post The positive F1 surprise Esteban Ocon has experienced at Haas appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu has explained why it’s “not acceptable” to scrap 2025 Formula 1 development in favour of an early start on next year’s rules cycle, akin to a tactic the outfit employed in 2021.

In 2021, the last year of the previous regulation cycle, Komatsu and then-Team Principal Guenther Steiner agreed that the limited financial resource available at the time wasn’t worth pouring into its current generation of car.

Amid a period of stagnation for Haas, whereby it had only scored three points the year before, the team didn’t develop its 2021 car whatsoever and instead focused solely on its first-gen ground effect car for 2022.

The decision paid off and Haas went from scoring no points and finishing last in 2021, to scoring 37 and finishing seventh a year later.

Next year’s rule changes are seismic, with broad revisions coming to the power unit, chassis and aerodynamic regulations, but Haas is in a different place than it was four years ago having narrowly missed out on sixth in the Constructors’ standings in 2024.

So, even if Haas found itself a second off the pace come Melbourne in just under two week’s time, Komatsu ruled out scrapping developing the VF-25.

“That’d be pretty sudden, before going to race one,” he said. 

“But the thing is, we can’t do that anyway.

“For us, if we are in that position, we’ve got to develop better out of this car to try to catch up. 

“We’re not in a position where we can just give up on ‘25.”

Financial incentive behind Haas’ development push

Not only is Haas in a stronger position heading into 2025 than it was four years ago from a technical point of view, the team is also in a stronger position financially thanks to its title partnership with MoneyGram.

Moreover, the team’s recent technical alliance with Toyota shows Haas is an outfit on the up and Komatsu revealed that the cost of finishing last in 2025 isn’t worth any potential gains that could be gleaned from focusing on next year’s rule changes more severely.

“If we finish last this year, obviously the amount of money we lose, that’s not acceptable,” he said.

“It is very simple,” Komatsu added, acknowledging that as the season progresses, “We have a few different scenarios depending on where we are, which I agree with the owner.”

Given that wind tunnel time for 2026 development has been permitted since the start of the new year, Haas, of course, has begun developing its car for next year, but it’s a balancing gap currently tipping in the VF-25’s favour.

When it comes to what percentage of development time is currently focused on next year, Komatsu said “it’s a bit difficult to say. Obviously we started, but percentage is a bit difficult to say. 

“At the moment, maybe the simplest thing to say is we’re still focused on 25. 

“Of course we are doing 26, but the major focus is still on 25.”

READ MORE – Williams wary of Haas sandbagging during F1 2025 pre-season testing

The post Why Haas won’t resort to making F1 development sacrifice in 2025 appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Williams is wary of Haas being a big player in the midfield fight after it was hiding its pace during 2025 Formula 1 pre-season testing.

Williams featured prominently towards the top of the timesheets during testing with Alex Albon finishing third-fastest on Day 3 and Carlos Sainz’s chart-topping time on Day 2 the fastest of the test overall.

Such pace has prompted talk Williams will be at the forefront of the midfield fight.

Haas, meanwhile, rarely troubled the top of the timesheets but that is due to a clear run plan executed by the American F1 outfit, committing to high fuel load long runs, completing the second-most laps of any team during the three-day test.

That’s made Haas’ midfield rivals wary that it’s sandbagging, a term used to describe a team withholding its true pace. 

Moreover, it’s made Williams Team Principal James Vowles question where Haas and his own squad will fall in the F1 pecking order for Round 1 in Australia.

Asked where he thinks Williams stands, Vowels told select media including Motorsport Week “I think it’s unfortunately too early to say that. I mean, [Haas Team Principal] Ayao [Komatsu] next to me is running all of his fuel and probably all of Ferrari’s fuel, if I look at the lap times. 

“I think at the moment, what you are seeing, which is a great thing, is the difference in fuel mass and power loads is vastly the difference between the teams. That’s a good thing. 

“That means the sport’s getting closer and closer together. But it’s not a cold, wet Bahrain that’s going to tell you the order I think realistically, it’s only when we get to Melbourne that we’ll see it. 

“My view on that is the top four will be the top four. There’s a large gap between them and the midfield. So it’s going to be a scrap.”

Alex Albon: ‘Haas is going to be strong’

Albon shared his boss’ sentiment when it comes to Haas disguising its true pace.

Admittedly, the Anglo-Thai driver is unsure how the midfield pecking order will pay out but admits Haas is will be a prominent player in the mix.

“I think in the midfield, it’s hard to say because it feels a little bit more different in terms of everyone’s run plan,” he said.

“You know, Haas kind of commit to their style of run plan and it’s hard to know where they are but you know they’re going to be strong.”

Ayao Komatsu: ‘I think we are in the fight’

Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu spoke to select media including Motorsport Week on Friday and was questioned on how the midfield pecking order is set to fall.

“Williams looks quick, he replied. “Alpine looks quick as well.

“I think we are in a ballpark. I don’t know exactly where we are. 

“I think we are in a fight. It’s a mixture. It’s so tight. At least I think we are in a mixture somewhere.”

But limited to no qualifying simulations means Haas and its rivals are in the dark when it comes to predicting where F1’s smallest team will land in the Australia season opener.

This doesn’t concern Komatsu.

“Even if I know we are P5 or P8, what am I going to do [before] Australia? Nothing is going to change,” he said. 

“If we [had] some new parts planned to come to Australia, we are going to bring [them] anyway. 

“If we didn’t, it’s not like ‘oh shit, we are P10, we need to bring something new.’ For me it’s not that important.”

Komatsu’s new team leader Esteban Ocon agrees and the Frenchman believes testing wasn’t ’the right moment’ for Haas to play its hand.

“Until we obviously go flat out in qualifying in Melbourne, we are not going to know if we will surprise the others or not, but what I know is that we are focussing on the right things, he said.

“We spotted what the weaknesses of the car are, where the strong points are, and that’s the most important for us. 

“So, yes, of course you’re always eager to see what this car can do compared to the others, but it’s not necessarily the right moment to be doing that, and I agree with the team and the aims of what they are trying to achieve here. 

“There is a time for everything, let’s call it.”

After finishing seventh in last year’s Constructors’ Championship amid a resurgent Alpine that snatched sixth, Haas could prove to be a dark horse in F1 this year.

While Williams dazzled atop the testing timesheets, Haas is compliant with lurking in the F1 shadows for now. 

READ MORE – Carlos Sainz leads Ferrari duo on second day of 2025 F1 pre-season testing

The post Williams wary of Haas sandbagging during F1 2025 pre-season testing appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Esteban Ocon revealed that Haas brought him a “late christmas present” in adapting his Formula 1 steering wheel.

Ocon is well-versed to using a dual-paddle clutch system on his steering wheel and tried his best to adapt to a one-paddle system that he was met with upon joining Haas from Alpine.

The Frenchman felt it wasn’t “safe” to proceed and exclaimed his surprise that Haas was able to turn things around quickly and offer a suitable clutch system for him to test with at the Bahrain International Circuit.

“There’s a lot of things that you need to adapt to and if you can’t adapt to what you have to adapt to, then you need to change things,” Ocon told select media including Motorsport Week. 

“So we’ve decided, for example, I got a complete new steering wheel with two clutch paddles.

“I’ve been working that way and I’ve tried the other way but I was struggling quite a bit and the team have managed to get me a late Christmas present, I would say, which has been good. 

“These are things that normally take a lot of time and it’s very good that it came out in a short amount of time.”

Ocon explains his clutch preferences

Ocon’s new team-mate Oliver Bearman revealed on Wednesday that he’s perfectly capable to run with a single-paddle clutch system, saying “It’s my own special clutch that I worked hard with the guys over winter to make, and so far my starts have been good, so I’m happy with that.”

Ocon, however, who made his F1 debut back in 2016 with Manor, has long-been used to a dual-paddle system and explained why changing now wasn’t a viable option.

“First of all, going out of the garage, when you have only a right paddle, how do you do [it]? 

“You need to hold the wheel when you need to hold the arm and not the end of it, which is very problematic,” he said.

“Or pit stop, when you turn left or right for me it felt unsafe, just boxing and not having the hand at the right place. 

“But also the way I wanted my paddle to be designed, it just suits me better to have two paddles the way I have now and it’s working well so far.”

Overall, Ocon has been impressed with how Haas has responded to the changes he’s had to make.

Steering wheels and clutch paddles are things that a driver must be comfortable with and when changing teams can be the most important thing to fix promptly.

“But those are the things visible, there’s a lot of things underneath in my position that we managed to really fix quickly, which has been good,” Ocon added.

“And a lot of technical things on the wheel as well that we’re able to place in the same point that I’ve been using for almost 10 years now, really, even back at Force India.”

READ MORE – How Haas is helping Esteban Ocon to adapt prior to 2025 F1 season

The post The ‘late Christmas present’ Haas delivered to Esteban Ocon appeared first on Motorsport Week.