Grosjean, who raced for Haas from their debut F1 season in 2016 through 2020, and was engineered by Komatsu at the team, believes his former colleague and long-time friend deserves all the plaudits he has been receiving.
“I’m so proud of Ayao and what he’s been doing with Haas, bringing the team back to a much better level – just making the most of it and working as he does,” current IndyCar and endurance racer Grosjean told F1.com.
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“I was lucky to know before the official announcement [that Komatsu would become Haas’s team boss]; I got a text from Ayao. I told him that I was very proud of him, very proud of everything he’s done, and very happy for him.
“Of course, I didn’t know how it was going to be turning out, but it’s fantastic. It almost makes me feel like I want to race for them again!”