F1: Beyond The Grid

Ayao Komatsu: from Tokyo to Team Principal

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Episode notes

The journey that has taken Ayao Komatsu from a teenager in Tokyo, dreaming of working in Formula 1, to the new Haas Team Principal is a gripping tale.

Featuring fascinating anecdotes of his father’s experiences as a political prisoner, the challenges Ayao faced when he left Japan for England, and how he engineered his way through university to a career in F1, this is a compelling conversation between Komatsu and Tom Clarkson.

Komatsu talks about his relationship with his family, the influence Japanese F1 hero Takuma Sato has had on his career, why he once wanted to be a journalist, how he’s transforming Haas, and much more.

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