The High Performance Podcast — E387

"How the Smallest Team in F1 is Competing with the Big Guys: Team Principal on Haas’ Comeback"

Date: January 19, 2026
Host: Jake Humphrey
Guest: Ayao Komatsu, Haas F1 Team Principal

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into how Haas F1, the smallest team on the Formula 1 grid, has transformed its performance, culture, and ambitions under the guidance of Team Principal Ayao Komatsu. The conversation charts Haas’ 2025 comeback after a catastrophic start to the season, explores the pivotal role of teamwork and transparency, and examines Ayao's personal leadership journey—drawing on formative experiences with talent, adversity, and near tragedy. The interview offers a masterclass in high-performance culture, resilience, and what it takes to fight against the odds in the world of elite motorsport.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. 2025: From Disaster to Best-Ever Results

• Haas began the 2025 season with a fundamentally flawed car, only to finish with its second-best points total ever and a joint-highest race result (P4 in Mexico).
• Initial Realisation of Trouble:
  • "Lap two of FP1." (Ayao, 01:28) – recognizing the car’s major performance issue almost immediately in Melbourne.
• Haas’ car was disastrously slow in high-speed corners, with drivers (rookie Ollie Bearman and newcomer Esteban Ocon) struggling just to keep it on track.
• Massive Setbacks:
  • Bearman crashed in two of three practice sessions, depriving the team of critical feedback.
• The team refocused, aligned on the problem, and engineered a solution in record time for the Suzuka GP—demonstrating unprecedented teamwork and unity.
• Ayao’s Reflection:
  • "The failure doesn’t define us. What defines us is how we get up from that as a team, together." (Ayao, 07:35)

2. Culture Transformation: From Dysfunction to Trust

• Prior to Ayao’s tenure as Team Principal, Haas was plagued by communication breakdowns, politics, and a lack of transparency.
• Old Haas Culture:
  • "People not talking to each other, no transparency, no alignment, no transparent discussion… we are not behaving as a team." (Ayao, 16:19)
• Ayao led a culture reset: direct communication, transparency, and accountability replaced finger-pointing and confusion.
• Building the Foundation:
  • "If that Melbourne issue in 25 happened six months earlier… we probably disintegrated… But we built this foundation of teamwork, trust, transparency, the right culture." (Ayao, 08:53)

3. Driver Management and Maturity

• Ayao explains his nuanced management of two very different drivers:

  • Ollie Bearman: Raw speed and immense potential, but needed help converting pace into consistent results and learning from mistakes.
    • "What I was most impressed was his maturity, understanding of the bigger picture… but at the beginning of the season… he just struggled to put a weekend together." (Ayao, 18:49)
  • Esteban Ocon: Experience, hunger, and relentless work ethic; a benchmark and mentor for Bearman.
    • "I didn't need a superstar driver... I really needed somebody who's really, really got a hard work ethic that can drive the team forward off the track as well as on the track." (Ayao, 24:26)

• Ayao emphasizes direct, honest dialogue with his drivers—never avoiding tough feedback.

  • "You got to speak to [the] person directly... in a very transparent manner, respectful manner." (Ayao, 23:55)

4. Handling Team Dynamics, Trust, and Conflict

• Application of transparency to reduce driver conflict (notably after a coming-together at Silverstone).
  • Encouraged Bearman and Ocon to resolve their issues themselves, only stepping in if necessary.
  • On Trust:
    • "If both drivers agree, that's fine... If it happened again, then I have to step in." (Ayao, 32:10)
• Examples of successful self-regulation and teamwork, e.g., Esteban offering to let Bearman through for the betterment of the team.
  • "Esteban came on the radio, said, ‘Oli is much faster in this condition. I let him through here, let him know.’ Did it by themselves." (Ayao, 34:35)

5. Talent, Pressure, and Human Side of Performance

• Reflections on working with past talents like Fernando Alonso and Romain Grosjean, and how experience has changed his leadership:

  • Fernando’s Natural Ability:
    • "He knows how he drives in [the] first 5 laps, he knows exactly what that tire is going to do in 20 laps time. That’s the talent. It’s incredible." (Ayao, 37:39)
  • Learning to Handle Emotional Drivers:
    • "So many people thought he [Romain] was arrogant, but he's not... he was so, in a way, insecure, lacking confidence." (Ayao, 52:14)
    • Expresses regret for not being able to better support Grosjean during tough times because of his own lack of experience: "I let you down by not being able to help you in that instance." (Ayao, 46:36)

• Insight into the psychological toll of Formula 1, its loneliness, and the crucial need for support structures.

6. The Bahrain Fireball – A Human Test of Limits

• Ayao recounts in vivid detail the horror and relief of Romain Grosjean’s fiery crash in Bahrain, and what it revealed about human resilience:
  • "When I realized it was Roman, obviously, I'm thinking, he cannot be alive. He's my friend." (Ayao, 61:40)
  • "You can tell... Romain never gave up surviving, not just for himself, but for his wife, for his kids. He never gave up. Incredible." (Ayao, 64:14)
  • Unforgettable imagery—Grosjean’s boot left stuck behind the pedal, the smell of fire, survivor’s instincts pushing through fear.
  • "He insisted on walking [out], you know, with aid, so that he can show to his wife and kids that dad's okay. Amazing." (Ayao, 69:27)

7. Personal Lessons & Journey

• Ayao draws on the influence of his parents, overcoming being written off by teachers, and lessons from the loss of his father.
• On the importance of embracing challenge and living for the moment: "You really have to be grateful for the moment you’ve got. If there was something you want to do, you better do it now." (Ayao, 71:20)
• Never leave anything on the table; hard work outweighs talent.
  • "If somebody can do this program in five minutes, it takes me two hours. So what are you going to do about it?" (Ayao, 79:08)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The failure doesn’t define us. What defines us is how we get up from that as a team, together.”
  — Ayao Komatsu (07:35)

• On Haas’ reputation for poor in-season development:
  “People said Haas may start the season well, but cannot develop the car. Update is waste of time, waste of money. No, I always believed that’s not right… we did it.”
  — Ayao Komatsu (09:02)

• On transforming team culture:
  “If this would have happened like two, three years ago, we’d have been just arguing forever about what the real issue is and why.”
  — Ayao Komatsu (13:19)

• On direct driver management:
  "You got to speak to [the] person directly... in a very transparent manner, respectful manner... We only trying to understand how we can improve you, and you got to be sincere about it."
  — Ayao Komatsu (23:55)

• On Romain Grosjean’s Bahrain crash:
  “He never gave up surviving—not just for himself, but for his wife, for his kids… Every single decision he made was correct in the cockpit to get him out of the car.”
  — Ayao Komatsu (64:14)

• On life lessons:
  “If you are comfortable, you haven’t tried hard enough. I think every day you got to think about, okay, have you put yourself out of your comfort zone once today? If you haven’t, you haven’t tried hard enough.”
  — Ayao Komatsu (80:40)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening Reflection on Failure & Teamwork — 00:01–01:05
• Melbourne 2025 Disaster Realization — 01:04–04:40
• Driver Crashes & Lack of Feedback — 04:40–06:59
• Suzuka Upgrade and Turnaround — 07:27–10:39
• Team Culture Before and After Ayao — 12:51–15:38
• Considering Quitting in Baku 2023 — 16:09–17:26
• Approach to Drivers: Bearman & Ocon — 18:39–25:50
• Driver Conflict Management (Silverstone, Spa) — 32:06–35:18
• Role of Human Factor in Performance — 35:45–36:29
• Perspective on Past Drivers (Alonso, Grosjean, Bearman) — 36:29–54:34
• Bahrain Accident — Leadership & Emotion — 61:24–69:47
• Living for the Moment, No Regrets — 71:20–74:42
• Aspirations for 2026 and Haas’ Future — 75:11–77:15
• Quickfire: Non-Negotiable Behaviors & Life Lessons — 77:15–80:40

Conclusion

This conversation demonstrates that high performance in F1 extends far beyond engineering brilliance; it rests on a culture of trust, honesty, and tough love. Ayao Komatsu’s leadership provides a blueprint for turning adversity into unity and individual talent into collective results. Haas’ story stands as a reminder that underdogs can punch above their weight with the right vision, values, and unbreakable teamwork.

Final Words:

“For me, the result is result… But what you can control is your process… We’re going to build a race winning team in the distant future with that core value, not diverting from that. And I believe we can do it.” — Ayao Komatsu (81:34–81:56)

For more inspiring F1 conversations, scroll through The High Performance Podcast archives.