Ferrari junior Bearman is a potential star driver, says Komatsu

Ferrari reserve and development driver Oliver Bearman has the potential to become a Formula One start driver in the future, claims Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu.

Oliver Bearman currently races in Formula One's main feeder series, Formula 2. The Briton's current season in F2 has not brought spectacular results with several low-key qualifying results masking his true potential. Moreover, Bearman lost a potential win in Imola due to issues during his pit stop.

The Saudi Arabian race weekend has marked the highlight of his 2024 season so far as he displayed eye-catching speed on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in qualifying. However, he abandoned his F2 commitments after Friday as Ferrari asked him to step in for Carlos Sainz, who was forced to miss the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after he fell ill with appendicitis.

Bearman fulfils the role of reserve driver for Ferrari and Haas this year which will see him drive for the American outfit in six first free practice sessions across the season. Having already completed an FP1 outing in Imola, Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu says that Bearman has impressed him with his on-track performances and that prompted the Japanese to claim that the 18-year-old Briton might become a future F1 star driver.

"He did nothing short of what we expected and what's impressive is he understands the program, what the team needs to get out of it, as well as what he needs to get out of it.

"He is receptive, a very quick learner, and he's always on board with the team’s objectives, so it's not just driving. That’s what makes him a potential future star driver."

Assessing the opening races in 2024, Komatsu conceded that the upgrade package Haas has brought across three races has not delivered the step the team had hoped for.

"For our first update of the year, we brought it across three races, doing a back-to-back comparison in Imola. We can say we’ve improved the car, but unfortunately, not as much as we thought we would.

"However, what is very good about this update is the advances we’ve made in our analysis. We were able to understand exactly which part of the car is underperforming. Monaco was not the right circuit to do aero testing, but in Montreal, we plan to do some tests to try understanding the root cause.

"We’re already working on the next set of updates, which at the moment is planned for Silverstone," added Komatsu.