‘It’s something we don’t need’ – Haas boss Komatsu labels Ocon row reports as ‘absolute bull****’

Haas’ Ayao Komatsu has shut down rumours of a fallout between himself and Esteban Ocon, with the Team Principal blasting the reports as “absolute bull****”.

Speculation circulated after the Miami Grand Prix earlier in May that there had been a disagreement between the French driver and his boss, and that there could be a possibility of Ocon exiting the team before the end of the season.

Ocon was quick to deny the reports during Thursday’s media day at the Canadian Grand Prix, stating that “the stories have been fabricated with no foundation” – and this was echoed by Komatsu when the team boss spoke to the press himself.

“I honestly don't know where the story came from, no idea,” said Komatsu. “No foundation whatsoever, absolute bull****.

“If somebody wants to write that kind of bull****, feel free, but is that journalism? I have no idea. It's terrible. What are they trying to achieve? It's crazy. No foundation whatsoever.”

When asked if he had spoken to Ocon when the rumours started to gain traction, Komatsu answered: “I spoke to him this morning, but for me there's nothing to defend from our side whatsoever.

“It's incredible. Part of it is that apparently I had some issue with Esteban in Miami – where’s that come from? I didn't even have a single argument with Esteban in Miami.”

Komatsu went on to detail how certain parties had been affected by the speculation.

“Esteban gets worried, his manager gets worried,” he explained. “Esteban knows that we haven't had any argument in Miami, at least a specific thing. This morning we were just smiling and talking about what the f***'s that about.

“So I said I'm going to just completely clarify this to everyone, because it's absolute utter s***. Total bull****. It's just something we don't need.”

Turning his attentions instead to the weekend ahead in Montreal, Komatsu confirmed that Haas will be running a “substantial” upgrade at the event.

“Whether it's going to translate into substantial performance or not, we have to see,” he added. “We didn't feel we had a good enough package to bring it to Miami, but that extra week brought us time to develop further. We'll see tomorrow.”