Haas boss Ayao Komatsu stated that the six free practice sessions (FP1) that Oliver Bearman will undertake this year will have ‘more weight’ than his performance in Formula 2 in the 2024 season, in defining a possible vacancy on the team in 2025.
The 19-year-old Bearman impressed on his Formula 1 debut, replacing Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian GP earlier this year. Even with just one practice session before the qualifying session, he finished the race in seventh place.
Since then, rumors of his arrival at Haas have intensified. Furthermore, the Ferrari junior driver had already agreed to participate in six free practice sessions with the American team in 2024, tripling the minimum requirement of two sessions for rookies.
“It’s a combination, he needs to perform well in F2, for sure,” Komatsu told the press, when asked how Haas will evaluate Bearman when defining its drivers for 2025.
“But when we work directly with him, we understand all the details, the entire environment and the reasoning behind certain things happening. So yes, I would probably give more weight to what we do with him in free practice, how he performs in our environment. But of course he needs to perform well in F2. That’s clear.”
With Nico Hulkenberg leaving for Sauber (Audi from 2026) next year, the expectation is for a Bearman-Magnussen duo for Haas in 2025. However, the F2 driver will need to maintain good performance to renew his FIA super license and become eligible to race in F1 next season.
“It’s completely open,” Komatsu responded when RacingNews365 asked if Bearman was the favorite to take the second Haas seat. “We have six FP1 sessions scheduled for him, and the first will be in Imola. We’re really looking forward to seeing how we can develop it and how well we can work together. I’ve said it many times before, he’s very impressive… I have nothing to complain about. It’s a great package, Haas and Bearman”, concluded Komatsu.
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