French Formula One driver Esteban Ocon denied rumors of a rift with his Haas team and team principal Ayao Komatsu at the Canadian Grand Prix on May 21, 2026, calling the reports "fabricated with no foundation" and "unfounded" [1, 2, 3]. The rumors began circulating after the Miami Grand Prix, held from May 7 to 10, where speculation about tensions surfaced but never materialized according to Ocon [1, 2, 3].
Ocon stressed his long-standing relationship with Komatsu, saying, "I've joined this team because of Ayao, because I've known him for so long" [1]. He disputed the credibility of the original article that sparked the rumors, noting it referred incorrectly to Komatsu as "Ryo Komatsu," which made him stop reading further [1, 2, 3].
The French driver expressed frustration at the false accusations, saying the stories have negatively affected him and his family. "At the end of the day, I'm human, so when it escalates so much and when there is so much going on it affects my sponsors, my family, it affects everyone that is around me," he said [1, 2]. He called the fabrications a form of bullying and said, "It's not normal that you can fabricate stories like this and just get away with not having any problems for yourself. You can't just lie about things. I've never faced that in F1 before" [1].
Ocon’s British teammate, Oliver Bearman, has outscored him significantly this season, with 17 points compared to Ocon’s 1 point after four races and two sprint events, fueling speculation about intra-team dynamics [1, 2, 3].
Haas currently sits sixth in the constructors’ standings with 18 points, five behind Ocon’s former team Alpine, who lead Haas with 23 points [1, 2, 3]. Ocon said Komatsu, his first race engineer in Formula One, plans to address the rumors in the media soon [3].
