Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has detailed the frank conversations he had with Toyota before Rafael Camara was confirmed as the team’s 2027 driver.
The American outfit carries a deep relationship with Japanese manufacturer Toyota, reflected in the team’s official 2026 name, TGR Haas F1 Team, where TGR stands for Toyota Gazoo Racing.
That close partnership led many observers to question whether Toyota would have significant influence over which driver filled the vacant seat alongside Oliver Bearman.
A three-driver shootout test held in Portimao in late August did little to quiet those questions, with Toyota-backed Ryo Hirakawa testing alongside Ferrari Driver Academy prospect Rafael Camara and McLaren reserve Leonardo Fornaroli.
Komatsu revealed he had personally travelled to Tokyo to meet Toyota boss Akio Toyoda before any formal agreement was signed, wanting to eliminate any possible misunderstanding from the outset.
He explained his position clearly, saying: “I said to him, ‘Look, I understand you know your target, but this driver, whoever your driver is going to be, has to be the fastest one’.”
Komatsu warned that selecting a driver purely on financial backing would damage all three parties involved, including Toyota’s own reputation within the sport.
He laid out his reasoning directly, stating: “If I choose the driver who is not the fastest, who is not the best, to Toyota, they’re going to be labelled as, ‘Okay. Toyota just poured the cash in to get their driver into F1’.”
Komatsu stressed that he was completely open with Toyoda throughout the entire evaluation process, and that the Toyota chairman responded positively to that honesty.
He noted: “I was totally transparent from the start. ‘Akio-san, we’re going to choose the driver who is the fastest’, and then he was completely happy with that.”
Komatsu also revealed that Toyoda was genuinely impressed by how Haas structured the Portimao assessment, praising the team for conducting it professionally and fairly.
Komatsu recalled Toyoda’s reaction, saying: “He was actually very happy to say, ‘Wow, you know, Haas is doing it properly in this way’.”
The Haas boss made a point of flying to meet Toyoda in person again after the Singapore Grand Prix weekend to inform him of the final decision and walk him through the full process.
Komatsu described the importance of that face-to-face meeting, explaining: “It was important for me to again look at his eyes in person to just tell him. He was absolutely fine.”
With Camara confirmed as the chosen driver, Komatsu has also pushed back against suggestions that Haas functions as a Ferrari B-team, given that two Ferrari Driver Academy graduates now sit within the lineup.