Ayao Komatsu shares whether Oliver Bearman could now replace Kevin Magnussen permanently at Haas

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Oliver Bearman has the chance to complete a full weekend for Haas at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. That’s after Kevin Magnussen received a one-race ban for accumulating too many penalty points.

The stewards added two to Magnussen’s tally after his collision with Pierre Gasly at the Italian GP last time out, taking him to 12. That automatically triggered a suspension for Baku.

It seemed certain from the outset that Haas would turn to Bearman. While he’s officially on the books of Ferrari, he’ll race for the team next year and he’d already driven the VF-24 in three practice sessions.

Haas will field an all-new line-up in 2025 as Esteban Ocon joins from Alpine. Magnussen is leaving the team, and likely F1 altogether, while Nico Hulkenberg is joining Sauber/Audi.

While Bearman has already started preparing for his full-time debut, the opportunity before him in Azerbaijan is uniquely valuable. Even when he stepped in for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, he was only able to complete one practice session before being dropped into qualifying.

Bearman is frustrated to miss the F2 action this weekend, but naturally, F1 takes priority. There are three rounds remaining in the feeder series, which also stops in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Ayao Komatsu admits he briefly considered axing Kevin Magnussen for good after race ban

Speaking to outlets including Motorsport-Total on Thursday, team principal Ayao Komatsu confirmed the plan for the rest of the season. He admitted that he briefly considered a permanent driver change.

He thought about fielding Bearman for the remainder of the season and parting ways with Magnussen early. This would put the 19-year-old in a stronger position ahead of 2025.

With Magnussen leaving the team, some would argue that an early change is logical. But that could also bring contractual difficulties.

Komatsu says the Dane will be back in the car from Singapore to Abu Dhabi. His penalty points tally will reset to zero, which should remove any jeopardy.

“I would be lying if I said that we hadn’t thought about it at all,” Komatsu said. “But it was never a serious consideration.”

George Russell explains why Kevin Magnussen’s race ban is fully deserved

Gasly wanted to visit the stewards when he learned of Magnussen’s penalty. Clearly, he felt that the punishment was harsh.

But George Russell says Magnussen deserves his ban on the balance of the season. He’s collected all 12 of his points during the 2024 campaign.

Russell pointed out that the 31-year-old was perhaps lucky to avoid sanctions for earlier incidents. Haas will hope that Bearman is cleaner next season to avoid any such anxiety and keep repair bills down.

Williams driver Logan Sargeant lost his seat after a crash at the Dutch GP last month. Like Magnussen, he was due to leave at the end of the season anyway, but Haas clearly feel their veteran driver has more to give.