Ayao Komatsu admits Oliver Bearman doubt after suffering ‘setback’ in F1 with Haas

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Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has admitted the ‘one thing I did not know’ about Oliver Bearman following a ‘setback’ amid his F1 cameo at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old will graduate from Formula 2 permanently next season to take over the seat Nico Hulkenberg currently occupies. But Bearman got an early taste of what life in Formula 1 with Haas will be like in Baku thanks to Kevin Magnussen fulfilling his one-round suspension.

Bearman got the gig through serving as the reserve driver for Haas and also Ferrari this year. It was also thanks to his role that the Briton stepped in for the Scuderia at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to replace Carlos Sainz with the Spaniard having emergency appendicitis surgery.

Haas boss Ayao Komatsu doubted how Oliver Bearman would bounce back from a setback

Jeddah and Baku even saw Bearman make F1 history as the first driver to score points in his first two Grand Prix starts whilst driving for different teams. He secured seventh place in the Saudi Arabian GP before Bearman overtook Hulkenberg to achieve P10 in the Azerbaijan GP.

But his time in Baku was not faultless as Bearman crashed in third practice whilst on his first push lap in preparation for qualifying. The Chelmsford native found the wall at Turn 1 having bailed out too late after accepting that he carried too much speed into the left-hand corner.

READ MORE: Who is 2025 Haas driver and Ferrari gem Oliver Bearman? Everything to know

The contact immediately snapped the front-left suspension on the Briton’s VF-24. But after Haas repaired the car, Bearman qualified in P11 for the Azerbaijan GP ahead of Hulkenberg in P13. It pleased Komatsu as the Haas chief was unsure how Bearman would bounce back.

“Of course, FP3 was a setback,” Komatsu told Motorsport.com. “So, that’s one thing I didn’t know – how he was going to deal with the setback like that.

“But, then again, he was really good, managed to then switch and be focused, go back to what he’d done well on Friday, and then hit the Q1 like that. So, that was brilliant. It’s impressive. But that’s what I expected.”

Oliver Bearman out-qualified and out-finished Nico Hulkenberg in Baku

Bearman bounced back from his brush with the barriers in Baku to qualify 11th for Haas at the Azerbaijan GP. The Ferrari Driver Academy graduate also only missed out on securing a Q3 spot by 0.128 seconds to Williams’ Alex Albon, whilst Hulkenberg lapped 0.223s slower.

Hulkenberg’s time was only good enough for 14th on the Q2 timesheet, but the 37-year-old adopted P13 when the stewards disqualified Pierre Gasly from the Azerbaijan GP qualifying results. His Alpine was found to have exceeded the permitted instantaneous fuel mass flow.

Yet it seemed unlikely that Bearman would convert his starting position into points and end the Azerbaijan GP ahead of Hulkenberg heading into the final laps. The German was touring in ninth then lost out to Lewis Hamilton and also Bearman on the penultimate lap of the 51.

The penultimate lap crash that took Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez out of the Azerbaijan GP while fighting for the podium gifted Hamilton a chance to pounce. He dived down the inside at Turn 3 after clearing the yellow flags, paving a route for Bearman to sneak by Hulkenberg.