The Haas boss highlights that the 20 year old Briton not only scores points, but also brings out the best in the team, seventh in the championship after three races, he has established himself as one of the great promises.
Ayao Komatsu, Haas team principal, did not hold back on praise for Oliver Bearman during the team representatives' press conference at Suzuka, the young 20 year old Briton currently sits seventh in the drivers' championship with 17 points, a haul that includes standout performances in Australia and China, plus points in the Shanghai Sprint, in Japan, unfortunately, he could not finish.
What Komatsu values most is not just the numbers, the Japanese executive highlighted a quality he considers fundamental in a driver: his ability to motivate those around him, even in the most adverse moments: "Step by step he is growing, you saw how much he improved during last year, right? As we said, his speed has never been in doubt, then you saw the improvement in consistency towards the end of last year. Mexico, P4, was incredible under enormous pressure," Komatsu explained.
The Haas boss also referred to Bearman's growth in technical aspects: "During the preseason tests working with the engineers, mechanics, the setup, the whole quality has improved, if you look at the first two races, he barely made mistakes," he added.
"The way he can absorb information, understand the big picture, articulate it, digest it, apply it... all those qualities you need to be a top level driver, he has them," said Komatsu, who also did not hesitate to highlight a very positive attitude that the Briton has: "The thing is that his attitude is very, very positive, so he brings out the best in the people around him, engineers, mechanics, everyone."
He did not stop there, but continued to highlight this: "That is a very important quality, even when a less than ideal situation occurs, the way he handles it doesn't depress people, but actually motivates people to solve the problem more quickly. That is a natural attribute he has," Komatsu highlighted.
Bearman's journey so far has been meteoric: he made his unexpected debut in Formula 1 in 2024, when he had to replace Carlos Sainz at Ferrari due to appendicitis, despite the short notice, he achieved a meritorious seventh place that caught the attention of the entire grid, in 2025 he joined Haas as a full time driver, achieving the team's best result that season with a spectacular fourth place at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Now, in 2026, he has established himself as one of the most promising young drivers in the category, Komatsu concluded with a reflection that excites the whole team: "We already enjoy working with him and, for the moment, I can't see his ceiling, so that's the exciting part." And in a team like Haas, which seeks to consolidate itself in the midfield, the Briton's positive attitude can make the difference between just another year or a definitive leap in quality.