Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has a decision to make after Nico Hulkenberg’s confirmed exit to Sauber and has provided his verdict on Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman.
The British teenager is hotly tipped to be one of Haas’s two drivers in 2025 and could end the wait for a rookie to join the grid after a complete absence of new drivers this season.
Speaking to Racing News 365, Haas boss Ayao Komatsu explained how he and the team feels about Oliver Bearman at this early stage of the season.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu provides Oliver Bearman verdict
For much of the 2024 season, Mercedes were the only team with a confirmed empty seat for next season after Lewis Hamilton decided to join Ferrari.
Toto Wolff has yet to decide who he wants to partner George Russell next year but is in a strong position knowing that Mercedes have one of the most enticing seats on the grid.
However, last week Haas joined that club after Nico Hulkenberg’s long-awaited move to Sauber ahead of Audi’s takeover was announced.
The German followed it up by scoring two points in the Sprint Race in Miami and securing a top-ten start in qualifying.
Once again, he benefitted from some very questionable defensive driving from Kevin Magnussen who backed up Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the pack to allow the 36-year-old to drive off into the distance.
He received a plethora of penalties and three penalty points on his license, but his efforts seemed to be a message to Haas that he’s willing to be a team player as he seeks a contract extension.
Magnussen and Bearman have worked closely together at Haas and Komatsu has given his verdict on whether it would be an ‘easy’ decision to hire the Brit.
He did well in testing last year, but vastly improved his reputation with a fantastic drive for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia in place of Carlos Sainz.
READ MORE: Who is Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman? Everything you need to know
Ayao Komatsu demanding more from Bearman to secure 2025 seat
Asked if it would be easy to sign Bearman if he keeps performing well in FP1 outings for the team, Komatsu said: “Yeah, of course.
“It doesn’t change because you can’t as a team, you’ve got an objective for that weekend, you have a clear idea of what you need to get out from FP1, FP2, FP3 to prepare for your quali and race. So that approach doesn’t change.
“But it’s moreover does the driver understand that objective? Can he play a strong part in fulfilling that kind of objective? “If this young driver is only interested in, let’s say, going flat out everywhere showing the world how quick he is – that’s not really a mature approach.
“But Ollie is not like that. What Ollie’s shown in Mexico and then Abu Dhabi, he’s got the speed.
“He really understands the bigger picture, and he can play a positive part in contributing to the team. I would like to see the continuation of that.
“Also, at some stage, he will face an issue; maybe you’ve got the car issue that maybe he loses half a session? How does he react to that? That kind of adversity. So that’d be an interesting one to see.”
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Haas F1 Team from team principal to Ferrari relationship
Oliver Bearman set for next Formula 1 outing in Imola
Bearman has had a long time to wait to return to action after last competing in Formula 2 back in Melbourne.
However, the 18-year-old has been lined up for six FP1 sessions for Haas and Komatsu will be able to give his latest verdict on Bearman at the next race in Imola when he drives the VF-24 for the first time.
Sky Sports reporter Natalie Pinkham believes Hulkenberg’s move to Sauber is ‘fantastic news’ for Bearman.
However, it’s not completely implausible that Bearman is joined by a new teammate at Haas next year.
Ralf Schumacher has suggested that Valtteri Bottas might be an option for Haas next year.
While it’s also been suggested that his teammate Zhou Guanyu is the ideal driver for Gene Haas.
The post Haas team principal shares three-word verdict when asked if it would be ‘easy’ to sign Ollie Bearman for 2025 appeared first on F1 Oversteer.