Haas F1 Can't Ignore Bearman for 2025

Komatsu acknowledges Bearman’s impressive performance, making it hard for Haas F1 to overlook him for the 2025 season.

Driving the VF-24 during Free Practice 1 at Imola this Friday, Oliver Bearman once again delivered a flawless performance for Haas F1. The director of the American team, Ayao Komatsu, praised the young Briton’s work.

“It was a standard program during these FP1 sessions. There were two sets of tires, two runs with a fairly low fuel level. The first run allows you to get familiar with the circuit and the car, then the second, with the softest tires, allows for a qualifying simulation. The final run is done with a lot of fuel to study tire management and race consistency. Once again, he did a very, very good job. You know, he’s very calm. He understands what he needs to do in each session, each race, each lap. And he is able to absorb information very quickly, whether it’s what he learned himself on the previous lap or what the engineer communicated to him. Once again, I can’t fault him for anything. It was good work.”

With Nico Hülkenberg joining Sauber next season, there is officially a seat available at Haas F1 for 2025, and Komatsu admits that Bearman is more than ever a candidate for that seat.

“I think he needs to keep working the way he is. You know, as I said, we haven’t looked into the details yet, but at first glance, we couldn’t fault him for anything this Friday. And that was the case last year when we ran him in two sessions as well. So, yes, if he continues to perform like this, it’s certainly hard to ignore him.”

Hülkenberg’s Departure is a “Big Loss” for the Team

The Japanese leader also acknowledged that he did everything possible to keep Hülkenberg beyond the current season, but he understands the German’s desire to join Audi’s ambitious Formula 1 project.

“Of course, we will feel the loss from his departure. And it also depends on who you’re going to bring in for next year. But since Nico joined us last year, he has provided us with excellent references in qualifying, along with his feel for the car and feedback. Especially for teams like ours, you know, not as large as others, where some methodologies or procedures are not as refined or detailed. You know, the driver plays a more significant role, if you will, in telling us how to develop the car, where the strengths and weaknesses are. It’s a big loss, and that’s why I tried to keep him, but you know, we are all adults, and we understand the reasons for his departure, and we will continue to work together until the end of the season.”

On Kevin Magnussen’s side, things aren’t looking great at the moment. The Dane, who has been much less performant than his teammate since the start of the season, has accumulated 10 penalty points on his license, bringing him very close to a race suspension. Komatsu discussed the situation with his driver after Miami.

“Neither he nor I want him to be suspended for a race. So of course, we talked about it, you know, off the track. And this weekend, we’re trying to ensure he is as clean as possible. He needs to be cleaner than, let’s say, his baseline, if you will. But yes, of course, he’s aware; we’re all aware. We’ll see, but he knows what he needs to do.”

However, the American team leader affirms that Magnussen still has every chance of staying with Haas F1 in 2025.

“I don’t think it’s defined by a single race. And then, of course, he was doing his best to help Nico in his mind during the Sprint in Miami. Whether we agree with that methodology or not is another question. Again, as I said, I spoke to Kevin privately, away from the track. No pressure. It was a very good conversation. We understand each other perfectly. And honestly, this year, Kevin is so involved; he understands what he needs to do to help the team and what he did in Jeddah was also incredible. So, okay, Miami wasn’t his cleanest race, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has been a tremendous team player and has made his contribution.”