In a roundabout way, Ayao Komatsu can trace his Formula One career back to Beethoven.

Long before the Tokyo native left Japan to pursue a career in a sport dominated by Europeans, Komatsu¡¯s father, Yuichiro, was blazing a unique trail of his own, having taught himself German in order to become a leading scholar on one of the world¡¯s greatest composers.

¡°It just goes to show that if you got, let¡¯s say, determination, you can pretty much do anything,¡± says Komatsu, 48.