Komatsu: “Bearman has an ability to understand the situation as a whole”

Oliver Bearman was not scared of transitioning from Formula 2 to Formula 1. The Briton, who is having a tough season with Prema in Formula 2, has nonetheless performed amazingly in the two Grand Prix races he was able to compete in this season with Ferrari and Haas, his future team.

From the second Grand Prix of the year in Saudi Arabia, he was urgently called by the Italian team for Saturday and Sunday after Sainz had to leave the paddock due to appendicitis. With only one free practice session scheduled, the rest of the weekend was expected to be difficult for the German and Italian F4 champion in 2021.

Great performances in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.

In Jeddah, Bearman narrowly misses out on Q3. In the race, he achieves an even greater feat by scoring points for a seventh-place finish, overtaking drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris. His race was marked by superb overtaking maneuvers, evidence of the talent this driver possesses, ultimately convincing Haas to offer him a seat for 2025 alongside Esteban Ocon.

Read also: Leaving Haas “a difficult decision to make” for Nico Hülkenberg

Lately, he was once again called in as reinforcement, this time on the American team side for the Baku leg, to take the place of Kevin Magnussen, the Dane serving his suspension for reaching the maximum allowed penalty points on his Superlicence. Once again, the Briton finished the Grand Prix in the points with a tenth position, one place ahead of his teammate Hülkenberg. Another convincing result that impressed Ayao Komatsu.

A driver with many qualities

The Japanese, who replaced Günther Steiner as team Haas director during the winter, revealed that he was dazzled by Bearman’s ability to handle pressure. On a circuit as challenging as Baku, while Haas had to get a good result in its fight against Racing Bulls for the constructors’ championship. Interviewed by Autosport to find out if he was surprised by this result, Ayao Komatsu was keen to praise the qualities of his future driver, especially his ability to analyze an entire race weekend, including when to attack and when not to. « I am not surprised. But that does not take anything away from Ollie. I am not surprised because I saw so many good things in him during Free Practice 1 that what I expected. The very first time he drove for us during FP1 in Mexico [in 2023], what really impressed me was his ability to understand the overall situation – to understand the role he has to play, what he has to perform [and] when. And also how quickly he learns. »

Also read: Esteban Ocon impressed by Oliver Bearman’s driving

The leader notably referred to the race in Baku, where the Prema driver quickly managed to bounce back after his accident during the third free practice session. Bearman was able to preserve his tires during the race to clinch the tenth position. « For Baku, the objective was very different. [It was] a completely different mindset throughout the race weekend [compared to just the practice sessions], but what he did, what he executed, how quickly he learned, is everything I had seen in Mexico the very first time we had him drive in FP1. Of course, FP3 [where Bearman crashed on his first flying lap in Baku] was a setback. It’s something I didn’t know – how he would handle this kind of setback. »

« But once again, he was really good, he knew how to refocus, go back to what he had done well on Friday, and then attack Q1 in this way. So it was brilliant. It’s impressive. But it’s what I expected. » Komatsu also wanted to praise the maturity shown by Bearman, especially when the team asked him to let his teammate pass, who was faster than him. A directive that he immediately followed despite his anger, aware that the race was not over and that he could still achieve a good performance.

« What he showed during the race when we had to ask him to swap positions during the first relay, was that he was not happy. But even though he wasn’t happy, he did it. He didn’t hold up Hülkenberg for an extra lap or two. This once again shows maturity, doesn’t it? It’s great.

Bearman: a great asset for Haas in 2025.

Finally bringing home one point from his weekend in Baku thanks to the incident between Sainz and Perez, where he notably demonstrated impressive management by choosing to follow Hamilton’s Mercedes, which then allowed him to surpass his teammate, surprised by the appearance of the green flag despite the incident, Bearman impressed his future team. This gives him a lot of hope and confidence for 2025, where he will have the opportunity to showcase his talent throughout an entire season.