F1 | Haas: for Bearman, the approach to FP1 will matter more than the results in F2

After Nico Hulkenberg announced his departure at the end of the 2024 season to join Sauber next season, Haas has an open seat for 2025.

Oliver Bearman, who is currently the reserve for both Gene Haas’ team and Ferrari, is considered the favorite to take the seat vacated by the German driver, given that this year he will already have six free practice sessions with the VF-24.

The 18-year-old Briton’s chances of landing in F1 next season were strengthened by his performance at the wheel of Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, where he was forced to replace Carlos Sainz at the last second as he suffered an attack of appendicitis, finishing in seventh place in the debut.

Komatsu says that while Bearman needs to put in strong performances in F2 to ensure he retains the necessary Super License points, the Chelmsford-born driver must first demonstrate a good work ethic in his reserve role for Haas.

“It’s a combination: he needs F2 performance, for sure. But when we work directly with him, he needs to understand all the details, the environment and the reasons why certain things happen,” Komatsu explained.

“So yes, I would probably give more weight to what we do with him, then how he performs in our environment. But obviously he needs performance in F2 too. That’s clear.”

“It’s a wide open situation,” Komatsu added. “We have six FP1s planned for him, so we will see the first of these in Imola. We can’t wait to see how we can make him grow and how we can work together.”

Reflecting on Bearman’s integration into the team, Komatsu called the Prema F2 driver “impressive” and highlighted that in his first FP1 appearance, in Mexico last year, he gave no reason to complain.

When asked whether Hulkenberg’s departure would affect Bearman’s programme, Komatsu responded that helping the team prepare for the weekend remains the main focus for the British driver.

“It doesn’t change the plans, because as a team we can’t. There is an objective for each weekend in terms of what needs to be done in FP1, FP2 and FP3 to best prepare for qualifying and the race. So the approach doesn’t change “said the Japanese.

“But the most important thing is that the driver understands this and whether he is capable of playing an important role in realizing these types of goals. If a young driver is only interested in showing how fast he can be, this is not a mature approach”.

“But Ollie is not like that. What Olli showed in Mexico and then in Abu Dhabi is that he has the speed. But he really understands the big picture and can make a positive contribution to the team. I would like him to continue to do that.”

“Also, at some point he will face a problem, which may cause him to miss half the session. How will he react to this type of adversity? It will be interesting to see.”

If Bearman were to demonstrate all of these characteristics, Komatsu added on a promotion in 2025: “Obviously it would be a logical decision.”