Why it isn't only speed that enthuses Haas about Bearman

While the Formula 1 world has been whipping itself into a froth over the if-when-where of Mercedes protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s F1 debut, one of Ferrari’s up-and-coming talents has been there, done that, and picked his race number. Oliver Bearman has already proved himself capable of racing an F1 car at one of the most challenging tracks on the calendar – and Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu reckons it’s actually his new driver who has the potential to excite the establishment.


Bearman, pronounced as it’s written (somewhere along the line it had been incorrectly distorted to Beer-man), will drive for Haas from next season, effectively on loan from Ferrari, where he is part of the driver academy.  The 19-year-old was born in London and grew up living in Chelmsford, Essex with his parents before leaving the King Edward VI Grammar School and moving to Modena aged
just 16 to join Ferrari’s young driver programme. It’s that move perhaps that accounts for his accent, which has an Italian twang to it, most unfitting for an Essex boy.

Bearman shot to prominence earlier this season as an 11th-hour replacement for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Sainz underwent surgery for appendicitis on
the Friday night and Bearman, who had taken pole position for the F2 race, was instantly
called up to the main team.

What followed was a feel-good storyline, bar Sainz’s discomfort from his operation, which provided F1 with a timely distraction. The headlines had been dominated by Red Bull’s internal investigation into team boss Christian Horner and the subsequent fall-out with Max Verstappen’s father, Jos.

Bearman’s promotion to F1, albeit temporarily, lifted spirits as he defied the
odds to deliver an astonishing performance
on a notoriously difficult track that has no margin for error.
 Even though Bearman only had FP3 to get
up to speed in the new machinery, he still finished the session with the 10th quickest time and was just 0.698s behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

He then came agonisingly close to reaching Q3 on his qualifying debut, missing out by just 0.036s. The following day, Bearman finished the race in seventh place having made his way up from 11th on the grid, underlining his potential as a future F1 driver.


Shining cameo with limited preparation for Ferrari in Jeddah underlined the case for Haas to run Bearman next year

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

A question of time

His achievements during his short time driving for Ferrari hadn’t gone unnoticed. Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur called it a “mega weekend” from Bearman, while Leclerc predicted “it’s a matter of time before we see him permanently in F1”.

What followed were subsequent FP1 outings
for Haas at Imola, Barcelona and Silverstone
as he juggled his Formula 2 weekends with
his F1 commitments, jumping from car to car
in what has been a tricky F2 season to read.
A new car for 2024 has shuffled the order and Bearman’s Prema team had initially struggled
for form on both his side of the garage and that of team-mate Antonelli.


Nonetheless, Bearman appeared a shoo-in at the Banbury-based team. Yet he had to wait until after the Austrian Grand Prix before finally putting pen to paper for 2025 and he faced the media at his home race at Silverstone for the
first time as an F1 driver.
Bearman sat in the Haas motorhome and faced questions over his preparation for F1, his current season in F2, dealing with the media with laidback ease.


"He understands how he can contribute to
the bigger picture, which isn’t the case with all the young drivers"
Ayao Komatsu

“Honestly, until it was finally confirmed after the Red Bull Ring on the Sunday, because in F1 until you put a pen on a piece of paper, it’s not really official,” he said as he provided insight into when he learned he would be driving for Haas in 2025.

“I knew it was what we were working towards, and that we were pretty much getting there for a while. But you can never celebrate too soon, because F1 is a fast-moving world, and you’re only as good as your last race. I was, of course, relieved when it finally came about and that was quite an emotional moment... I think my reaction is a bit less than maybe some people expect.

“I’m not as happy as maybe I should be, but it’s just because it’s another step in the journey. It’s not the end, it’s just the beginning. It’s of course a dream come true, but I’m also looking at the future and looking at making this stuff as seamless as possible and making it my start.”

It’s this understated approach that has drawn Komatsu to consider Bearman as a worthy candidate to lead his team forward. The situation at Haas in the post-Guenther Steiner pantomime is looking more positive, since under Komatsu’s leadership the team has climbed off the bottom of the championship table and is threatening in the midfield. But what is it that Komatsu precisely sees in the young British racing driver?


Komatsu has been impressed by Bearman in his Friday outings for Haas - but not only because of his speed in the car

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

“He’s got the most important thing in the paddock, speed,” Komatsu tells GP Racing, “but, in terms of him understanding the bigger picture, it’s impressive, because he’s a young guy, and when he drives for us in FP1, we tell him the team’s objective for that week and to achieve that objective.

“We say ‘this is your role, this is your programme and what you need to achieve for the team as well as yourself’ and he is able to understand that very well. He understands how he can contribute to
the bigger picture, which isn’t the case with all the young drivers.

“Sometimes you can tell them all those things and then they go out and try to
set the quickest lap every single time. But you have to be a team player in F1, especially with limited testing programmes and opportunities.

“FP1 is an important session to provide what
the team needs. Each driver is only driving a certain way, and if he knows the team’s objectives, that can help. So that was very impressive for somebody to understand that
and execute that and be open about it.


“Also, before the event, his engagement with the team is very good – and after the event, his debrief after the learning is also very good and he’s able to provide the feedback we need.
He’s very calm and very positive as well. So he can bring a good vibe to the team and make everybody welcome him.

“Some drivers are driven but can be negative and when it’s working, it’s OK when the results are coming – but when they aren’t, it can be draining. I’ve had some drivers like that who are massively talented, a really good driver and are hard-working but drive the team, not in the wrong way, but on the negative side. And Ollie is very positive so it’s uplifting and a positive factor.”

Meteoric rise

Bearman’s rise has been so rapid that Komatsu admits he wasn’t aware of him much before he made his maiden F1 appearance, driving in FP1 at the 2023 Mexican GP for Haas. Taking over Kevin Magnussen’s VF-23, Bearman ran through a programme testing the Pirelli C4 prototype tyres before being handed a set of softs to show what he could do. He posted P15 to become the quickest rookie from the five teams running drivers eligible for the session.

Bearman’s successful karting career brought him to Formula 4 in 2020, and he won both the German and Italian F4 championships at the second attempt the following year with Van Amersfoort Racing. Still only 16 at the time, he also raced part-time in British F3 – now GB3 – driving for Fortec Motorsports and won once and took three second-place finishes in nine races.


Bearman's rise has been rapid, but he's taken each huge step in his stride

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

He finished the year being nominated for the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award and became a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, prompting his move to Italy.
In 2022, Bearman was promoted to F3 where he finished the season in third place driving for Prema behind the more experienced Victor Martins and Zane Maloney.

Podiums in successive feature races at Silverstone, the Red Bull Ring, the Hungaroring and Spa, plus two second places at the season finale in Monza, forced Ferrari’s hand into moving him to F2 for 2023, again with Prema Racing but to partner Frederik Vesti.


While
it was a step up and Bearman initially struggled in Bahrain and Jeddah, there were signs of
an improvement in Melbourne, where he finished seventh. Bearman then completed the double at the next event, winning both the sprint and feature races in Baku. He won in Barcelona and Monza too on his way to finishing the season in sixth place.


“By selecting a driver like Ollie, I can clearly see his potential and there will be questions like can we harvest that potential? Are we in position to do that for him and for us? The answer was 100% yes" 
Ayao Komatsu

But this season’s new F2 car has stifled his progress, as it has with Antonelli, who has two wins to Bearman’s solitary victory in Austria, which he registered before signing his contract with Haas for 2025. Bearman has struggled for pace in the new F2 car and was involved in collisions in Sakhir, Melbourne, Silverstone and Spa. He had technical problems in Bahrain and at the Red Bull Ring, and crashed heavily enough in practice at Imola to cause a red flag.

However, those setbacks haven’t dissuaded Haas, and Bearman is fully conscious that
it was his time filling in for Sainz at Ferrari in Jeddah that showcased his potential.

“The race in Saudi probably put me where I am today,” he said at the British GP, “but I think my reaction is that I’m not someone who wants to dwell on this announcement [confirming his place in F1] but someone that wants to keep going, keep going forward.

“I just want to get to work now. Let’s not focus on being happy and enjoying it, but let’s focus on making the step as seamless as possible. I’ve given a bit of feedback on things that work well, things that work a bit less well. It’s more driver preference.

“I’ve done a lot of simulator days now with Ferrari, so I know what I want from systems. Right now, I just get what I’m given and that’s absolutely fine, but there’s definitely a few things that I would change for myself and it’s simply driver preference. It’s a bit early to say what I like about the car and what I don’t, but I do some work with them on the simulator and that’s also helpful to create a direction for the guys.”

Bearman has only won once in a mixed F2 season, but that doesn't concern him or Haas

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Komatsu admits that Bearman’s performance in Jeddah was a considerable factor behind his decision to sign him, telling GP Racing: “It’s a very difficult circuit to jump in. It doesn’t forgive and I’m sure he knew he could have crashed
the car, so to go straight into FP3 in Jeddah alongside Leclerc, knowing that he cannot crash or be two seconds off, and to be able to deliver like that is very good.”


The key now for Haas is to ensure Bearman is up to speed and ready for next season where he will be partnered by Esteban Ocon, who joins from Alpine. The Frenchman comes with a reputation for not always being a team player, but Komatsu is hoping he will become the perfect foil for Bearman to drive the team forward.

“We will have done more simulator sessions with Ollie before he drives again,” says Komatsu. “We have an Abu Dhabi test too, and he can spend some time in the factory. We have our simulator and design office in Maranello so he can see what next year’s car is looking like.

“But I’m not massively worried in that sense because you can see Ollie is good. The final thing is finalising the crew and who is going to be working with him, and get him to work with that group. It’s not a step change like that.

“In some ways in January [when Komatsu replaced Steiner], I had to make certain changes. I did the minimum because, if I did more, I was concerned about breaking it, which I cannot afford because this team was rock bottom. From that point onwards it was how we can improve and phase in changes.


“It is really looking at how we keep on improving and what’s the next thing we need. It’s not about this being my team now and I need to make changes, it’s about saying in 2024 we were performing this way, this is where we want to go in ’25, ’26 and ’27 and this is where we are and what do we need. 


“By selecting a driver like Ollie, I can clearly see his potential and there will be questions like can we harvest that potential? Are we in position to do that for him and for us? The answer was 100% yes because with where we are as a team, improving and progressing, and where Ollie is, it’s in parallel and in sync.

“I’m convinced we can build together – so it’s not like I needed to make a change and put a young driver in. It was more about where we are, who he is, what he offers us and if it’s compatible and makes sense, then the answer is yes.”

Komatsu has full faith in his charge to hit the ground running with Ocon as his new partner in 2025

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Close to you

Haas’s technical partnership with Ferrari began before the team’s debut and was recently extended through to 2028 – killing off speculation that Toyota might return to F1 to supply the Banbury-based outfit.


This announcement came after the signing of Bearman, who arrived on loan from the Ferrari Driver Academy. The two organisations have enjoyed close ties throughout Haas’s time in F1, beginning with the team using as many Ferrari components as possible under the ‘listed parts’ regime. Latterly, Ferrari assigned many design staff to Haas in order to get them off the payroll for budget cap reasons.


The arrangement was a cost-effective way for a team to enter F1 but proved controversial at the time. Smaller squads complained that such a design process
was contrary to the DNA of F1 itself,
while larger teams feared Ferrari could
use Haas as a guinea pig to circumvent the strict testing protocols.

For Haas, the situation makes perfect sense to draw on Ferrari’s technical expertise and resource and it also allows mutually beneficial access to the Ferrari Driver Academy. Bearman follows the likes of Leclerc, Antonio Giovinazzi and Mick Schumacher with Ferrari having footed the bill  – and the time – to get the drivers up to speed to make it into F1.


Ferrari’s programme has fared much better at delivering talent than Haas’s own driver development scheme, through which the likes of Santino Ferrucci, Arjun Maini, Louis Deletraz and Pietro Fittipaldi have passed without securing a full-time F1 drive.

Ferrari will continue to supply Haas until 2028 in a deal that works well for both parties

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images