Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu says he has no insight into Alpine's decision to bench Esteban Ocon for the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Alpine stated that rookie Jack Doohan, Ocon's 2025 replacement, would take the Frenchman's seat for the final race, allowing Ocon to test Haas's 2024 car in the post-season. However, Komatsu expressed surprise at the timing of the move, given the close battle between Alpine and Haas in the constructors' championship.
"I wouldn't have (done it)," Komatsu admitted. "But it has nothing to do with me. It's not my job to comment on what they do. I'm sure they have their reasons."
Komatsu confirmed that Haas's 2025 recruit, Oliver Bearman, will not participate in free practice this weekend, as Haas prioritises consistency for the title finale.
"Everything just has to be as consistent as possible," Komatsu explained. "I told Ollie that, and he understands it completely."
Contradicting Alpine, the Haas boss clarified that Ocon's participation in the post-season test is unrelated to his absence from the Abu Dhabi race. According to Komatsu, the agreement with Alpine was made long before Ocon's departure from the seat was decided.
"Oli said 'yes, no problem'," he said, referring to Alpine team boss Oliver Oakes. "'You can have Esteban in the car. What about the driving suit? Should we do it in white?'" Komatsu said, recalling his conversation some time ago with Oakes.
"The last time I spoke to Oli about it, he was happy that Esteban could drive for us in the tests, and he hasn't said anything different since. If something had changed, he would have come to talk to me about it.
"He gave me his word and that was enough for me."
Speculation has arisen that Ocon's sidelining was influenced by Flavio Briatore, Alpine's new executive advisor, rather than Oakes. This decision leaves Oakes relying on Doohan, a rookie, to help defend Alpine's sixth-place position in the standings.
"I think Jack's professional enough to deal with it," Oakes said. "And I think if we take it slowly through FP1 and FP2 over the weekend, he'll be ready."
Oakes also praised Alpine's track record in developing young talent. "The team is clearly very good at developing young drivers—they didn't get enough credit for Oscar Piastri, in my opinion," he added.
However, even Ocon's teammate Pierre Gasly admitted to being caught off guard by the decision about ousting Ocon.
"Yes, I was surprised," Gasly said. "Ultimately, things were discussed behind the scenes, but I can't say much about it. I will just focus on what my job is here.
"I know exactly what my goal is for this weekend. I know what I have to do on the track. It will be an intense battle until the finish," Gasly added.
When asked if Doohan's presence could complicate Alpine's efforts, Gasly responded: "I don't think so. I know Jack well, and of course it will not be easy for him.
"But I have spoken to him and I have told him not to have abnormal expectations. I am confident that he is ready, but it is up to the team to make sure that he feels comfortable. I mainly have to make sure that I optimise in qualifying and the race.
"Then we will see whether we stay ahead of them (Haas) or not." body check tags ::
