WHAT ARE THE ATTRIBUTES OF BEARMAN THAT TRULY IMPACT HAAS?
British driver Oliver Bearman made a strong impression on the Haas team when he replaced Kevin Magnussen in Baku for the 2025 F1 team.
Haas’ new Formula 1 driver, Ollie Bearman, has already made significant impressions on the American team with his “maturity” and “ability to understand the bigger picture.” This view belongs to team manager Ayao Komatsu, who signed Bearman to race alongside Esteban Ocon in a completely new 2025 Haas driver lineup.
Since the rookie practice in Mexico last year, Bearman, a young driver from Ferrari, has managed to impress Haas. In his latest one-off race in Azerbaijan, where he participated in place of Magnussen, who was under a racing ban, he demonstrated how to cope with the various pressures of a race weekend for a mid-tier team. Bearman finished seventh in Saudi Arabia, racing in place of Carlos Sainz due to appendicitis earlier this season, and then scored another point with a tenth-place finish in Baku.
When asked whether this comeback surprised him given Bearman’s lack of experience in Formula 2, Komatsu replied: “I wasn’t surprised. But that doesn’t take anything away from Ollie. I wasn’t surprised because I saw so many good things from him in the first practices that I expected this.”
“What really impressed me when he drove the car for the first time in Mexico was his ability to understand the bigger picture—his understanding of the role he needed to play, what he needed to do and when. Also, how quickly he could learn…”
“The goal for Baku was very different. There was a completely different mindset throughout the race weekend, but the things he did, what he implemented, and how quickly he learned, I saw all of that in his first drive in the first practice in Mexico.”
“Yes, of course, the third practice session (when Bearman crashed during his first fast lap in Baku) was a setback. What I didn’t know was how he would deal with such a setback. But then he was very good again; he managed to adapt and focus, returned to the good things he did on Friday, and then succeeded like that in Q1. So that was great.”
“Impressive. But I expected that too.”
Komatsu also praised Bearman for the “maturity” he showed when he was asked to swap positions with his temporary teammate Nico Hulkenberg in the early stages of the Baku race; the British driver adhered to Haas’ tire management instructions while running a slower lap, while Hulkenberg surprisingly managed to maintain a higher pace on the challenging street circuit.
“What he showed when we had to swap positions in the first stage of the race… he wasn’t happy about it. I completely understand the reason for that.”
“But then, despite being unhappy about it, he did it. He didn’t do something like not letting Hulkenberg pass, and he didn’t delay it by another lap or two. That shows his maturity again, right? That’s great.”
Bearman’s point in Baku came after he passed Hulkenberg following crashes by Sainz and Sergio Perez. Hulkenberg was unable to react to the green flag after getting into the wreckage, and Lewis Hamilton passed him.
According to Komatsu, Bearman “showed his awareness and calmness” after following Hulkenberg’s passing.
“That’s another thing—he’s always calm, even when he’s upset or facing difficulties. Very calm, and even in that yellow-flag situation toward the end of the race, where there was a major crash and a lot of wreckage, he remained calm again.”
“In a rational way, he said, ‘Okay, Nico’s not involved,’ and kept going,” he added.
