Ayao Komatsu lauds Oliver Bearman’s ‘monumental’ race pace against Max Verstappen in China

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Oliver Bearman continued his impressive start to the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Chinese Grand Prix, outpacing the likes of Max Verstappen to finish P5.

The Brit enjoyed a strong opening race in 2026, as Bearman had a great battle with Arvid Lindblad and finished seventh. In Shanghai, he went even better, finishing fifth behind the Mercedes and the Ferraris.

Qualifying in 10th, the Haas driver found himself as the ‘best of the rest’ behind the top two teams at the Chinese Grand Prix. Bizarrely, he is ahead of both McLaren and Red Bull drivers in the standings, with the two teams noticeably struggling in 2026.

Verstappen was forced to retire from the race with an ERS issue. Teammate Isack Hadjar finished eighth for Red Bull, but he was almost a minute and a half behind winner Kimi Antonelli, and 30 seconds behind Bearman in the Haas.

Verstappen was despondent after the race as he launched another attack on the 2026 regulations and his car. He could not keep up with the likes of Bearman before his forced retirement.

Ayao Komatsu praises Haas’ reliability as Oliver Bearman showed ‘monumental’ race pace at the Chinese Grand Prix

Journalist Ronald Vording spoke to Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu after the race. He was proud of the team’s reliability, but he also wanted to focus on Bearman’s pace, as he looked hugely impressive against Verstappen on track.

“I spoke to Ayao Komatsu in the paddock afterwards, the Haas team boss,” said Vording via Motorsport.com Nederland. “And he said: ‘Well, firstly, this shows that with good reliability, you can go quite far under these new regulations.

“Because, well, two McLarens dropped out, then Max Verstappen dropped out too, and so actually, with just a reliable package, you can achieve a pretty good result.‘

A brilliant P5 for Ollie Bearman in China!

What do you think is his ceiling at Haas in 2026?

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“But he said: ’We’re selling ourselves short with that, because the race pace was also very good.’ And in all honesty, that was true too, because Max Verstappen was, of course, very close for a very long time, really for more than 10 to 20 laps, just 2.5 seconds behind Oliver Bearman.

“Which shows, yes, that Haas really showed a good race pace, and Komatsu called it monumental. So it’s really of great importance for the team that they, well, on pure pace at least, were able to beat Red Bull in one race. And from that, they’re getting a lot of satisfaction from that.”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Oliver Bearman from F1 stats to net worth

Are Haas a step ahead of Red Bull in 2026?

Bearman’s performances in 2026 have been spectacular, with the VF-26 clearly being a strong and reliable package. Haas are still learning Ferrari’s 2026 engine, but they have the data to extract more performance.

The situation is more difficult at Red Bull, who are not only lacking outright pace but also reliability. They have suffered two mechanical failures in the opening two rounds, one for both Hadjar and Verstappen.

Toto Wolff says Verstappen’s onboard in China was a ‘horror show’, highlighting how much work Red Bull need to do to get their driver comfortable. The Dutchman has constantly battered the new regulations, and he is not enjoying driving the RB22.

Meanwhile, Haas appear to be a more complete package at this stage, and Bearman is using it to extract top results and make himself a standout performer in the field.