Ayao Komatsu (L) & Esteban Ocon (R), and the Haas in Abu Dhabi (C) (Images Via Getty)
Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu has responded to claims about the Alpine team releasing Esteban Ocon for post-season testing. He has chosen to not comment on anything that has transpired within the French team regarding how it parted ways with Ocon before the last race of the season.
According to Autosport, Ocon only learned before the Qatar GP that he would be asked to step down ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP to make way for Jack Doohan, who will replace him at Alpine for the 2025 season. Alpine reportedly asked the French driver to either give up his seat for the following week's race, or he wouldn't be able to do the testing session with Haas. An agreement was reached Doohan ended up replacing Ocon for Alpine in the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. When asked about this switch, Komatsu said (via Autosport):
