Haas boss Komatsu convinced Bearman is a future Ferrari F1 driver

Haas crew principal Ayao Komatsu is in little question that Oliver Bearman will likely be a future Components 1 driver for Ferrari.

The Italian crew has began working with Lewis Hamilton this week, however fellow Briton Bearman, who’s a part of the crew’s driver programme, can be getting into this season as a full-time F1 driver.

Bearman has been shipped out on mortgage to Haas after a string of spectacular performances throughout FP1 periods for the Banbury-based crew in 2023 and 2024.

The 19-year-old additionally crammed in for the stricken Carlos Sainz to drive for Ferrari within the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP when the Spaniard had appendicitis.

He defied expectations to complete seventh which earned him plaudits, however Komatsu mentioned he by no means doubted Bearman from the second he had his Haas debut in FP1 on the 2023 Mexico GP.

When requested by Autosport if he noticed Bearman as a future Ferrari driver, Komatsu mentioned: “Sure. He’s a Ferrari driver and we have him for 2 years – plus an choice for an additional one – but when we do job and if Ollie does job, there is not any method Ferrari can ignore that.

“It is humorous about Ollie being a rookie as a result of I do not deal with him as a rookie within the sense, as a result of we pay a number of consideration to what he has to say.

“After all he is obtained good expertise in Ferrari’s training, simulator, and many others. And he is been driving our automobile – VF-23 and VF-24.

“Each time he will get within the automobile, his suggestions’s been glorious. The method has been glorious, pace has been nice.

“You noticed in Baku and Interlagos, each qualifying periods he out-qualified [former Haas driver] Nico [Hulkenberg], who was our reference.”

Komatsu has made it clear that he has been impressed by Bearman’s suggestions and his angle, shelving his personal try to indicate his pace by working via the crew’s programmes throughout his FP1 outings.

The Haas crew principal is now desirous to see how Bearman progresses together with his F1 profession and can see Ferrari to debate how it will likely be monitoring his growth.

“I am positive Ferrari need common suggestions,” Komatsu added. “I am really going to see them within the first week of February so I can perceive precisely what sort of suggestions they want.

“However I might like to provide them suggestions as effectively, as a result of they’ve been an important a part of his profession, in order that they know Ollie higher than us, so any assist we are able to get from that aspect can be useful as effectively.

“I might prefer to work fairly intently with the man who has been coping with Ollie.”