Haas only has one copy of the new Ferrari engine at Monza. Ayao Komatsu explains why the team chose to entrust it to Oliver Bearman.
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Haas had to make a decision. While Ferrari is introducing a new evolution of its power unit at Monza as part of the ADUO system, its customer team can also benefit from it. Problem: only one unit is currently available.
Rather than waiting to have two identical engines, as it did with the previous evolution introduced in Barcelona, Haas decided to immediately exploit this performance gain. Oliver Bearman will therefore have the new engine from the Italian Grand Prix, while Esteban Ocon will have to wait.
A choice that Ayao Komatsu fully assumes and justifies by the need to distribute the evolutions as fairly as possible between his two drivers.
Only one new engine available for Haas
The regulations require Ferrari to provide one copy of its evolved engine to each of its customer teams when a new ADUO specification is introduced on the official cars.
“Customers must have one unit,” confirms Komatsu.
During the previous evolution, Haas took a different approach. The team preferred to wait until it had enough engines to equip both Ocon and Bearman simultaneously, thus avoiding any performance difference between its two cars.
But Monza changed the game. The power of the power unit plays such an important role there that Haas did not want to leave a potentially beneficial evolution unused in its garage.
“Last time, we didn’t do that. We waited until we had enough engines to introduce them on both cars at the same time,” explains Komatsu. “But this time, Monza is an extremely power-sensitive circuit. It would be a shame to leave performance in the garage, wouldn’t it?”
Ferrari could only produce the bare minimum
Ideally, Haas would obviously have liked to have two copies immediately. But Ferrari is still working at full speed to finalize and produce its evolution.
“It would have been better to have at least two engines available, but Ferrari is pushing hard to get the maximum possible performance,” continues Komatsu.
The Scuderia was particularly keen to introduce this new version at Monza, where straight-line speed is one of the key performance factors.
“Obviously, they want to introduce it at Monza. But that means they have the minimum quantity, simply to comply with the regulations.”
Haas therefore had to choose between waiting for a second copy or accepting to temporarily create a technical difference between its drivers. The team prioritized immediate performance.
Why Bearman rather than Ocon?
The decision to give the engine to Bearman is not linked to a sporting preference for the Briton. Komatsu assures that Haas based its decision on the distribution of previous evolutions between its drivers.
Ocon had notably been prioritized for an evolution of the braking system. The Frenchman faced more difficulties in this area, which led Haas to give him first access to the new components.
“It’s not like an aerodynamic evolution. For example, we had done tests with the CI brakes and Esteban had more difficulties with braking,” explains the Japanese boss.
The same logic was applied a few weeks later regarding power steering.
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“We had another evolution in Budapest. We decided to give it to Esteban because he talked about it more and had more difficulties with power steering.”
Having benefited first from the previous novelty, Haas therefore considers that it is Bearman’s turn.
“This time, it was Ollie”
Komatsu does not try to present his choice as a perfectly fair decision. With only one unit available, one of the two drivers was necessarily going to be disadvantaged.
“The last evolution was given to Esteban and, this time, it was therefore Ollie’s,” he sums up.
The Haas boss especially emphasizes the transparency with which the team wants to manage this type of situation.
“There’s no point in telling nonsense. We operate in the most transparent way possible. Obviously, you can’t satisfy everyone every time, but we have no hidden agenda.”
Komatsu thus assures that neither driver receives preferential treatment.
Ocon will inevitably be “not happy”
The decision comes in a particular context for Ocon, whose seat for 2027 is officially up for grabs against several candidates. Komatsu recently confirmed that the Frenchman is among the five drivers evaluated for a single available spot next season.
Not having immediate access to the most performant engine could therefore appear as an additional disadvantage. The Haas director assures, however, that the two matters are not linked.
“We have no personal agenda in favor of one driver or the other. That’s how we build this relationship,” he states.
Komatsu nevertheless acknowledges that Ocon would naturally have preferred to have the new specification.
“Of course, Esteban will probably not be happy not to receive immediately power unit number four. But this is what is best for the team and it is the fairest way to proceed.”
Haas accepts an imperfect compromise
For Komatsu, no solution would have fully satisfied both drivers anyway.
“Nothing is ever completely fair, is it? All you can do is be transparent and direct about it.”
Haas therefore prefers to accept a temporary difference between its cars rather than give up a potential performance gain on one of the circuits where engine power matters most.
Bearman will thus be the first Haas driver to benefit from the new Ferrari engine at Monza. Ocon will have to wait before having this evolution in turn, a choice that Komatsu presents as a simple rotation of technical priorities and not as any sign of distrust towards the Frenchman.
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