Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu puts it bluntly: “That’s complete rubbish”

A decision regarding the driver line-up has already been made at the Haas team: the US team announced in September that Esteban Ocon will be leaving the team at the end of the current season. This came as little surprise to most regulars in the paddock; after all, there had been speculation for some time about the Frenchman’s departure from Gene Haas’s team.

His successor was also soon confirmed: just under two weeks after Ocon’s departure was confirmed, the signing of Rafael Camara was announced. The 21-year-old Brazilian, who leads the Formula 2 championship, had come out on top in testing against the other candidates: Jack Doohan, Leonardo Fornaroli and Ryo Hirakawa.

The second seat is currently occupied by Ollie Bearman, who has already put in some strong performances in the Haas car and has scored 23 points this season. The fast Briton is considered a shoo-in for the 2027 season, but confirmation of his continued involvement is still pending. The wildest rumours are circulating about the reasons for this, such as the suggestion that the 21-year-old’s salary demands – reportedly six million euros a year – are causing a stir.

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu addressed the matter at the team principals’ press conference, emphasising: “I’ve no idea where that’s coming from. To be honest, I’ve experienced this a few times already this year. They say where there’s smoke, there’s fire. But some people really do make up the wildest stories!”

Baseless rumours are driving Haas team principal Komatsu up the wall

“Take Miami, for example – apparently I had a row with Esteban there. None of it is true, and these people claim they have inside information and all that. That’s complete rubbish! And now this again – I don’t know who came up with this figure of six million euros; I first saw it on Instagram. Someone brought it up just to stir things up. I’ve got nothing to say about it, because it’s not even close to the truth. And why should we even bother with this nonsense – what’s the point?’, railed the Japanese man.

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“The people who make such claims aren’t trying to help anyone. It’s quite astonishing that sources aren’t checked these days. They want more clicks and more likes, so they just copy these stories and pass them on, and before you know it, 20 people have picked up the story and believe it to be true. That’s absolute nonsense,” Komatsu clarified once again.