Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu believes there is “no point worrying” about potentially losing Ollie Bearman to Ferrari in future as the young Briton continues to impress in Formula 1.
The 20-year-old has been one of the standout performers in 2026 so far, finishing seventh and fifth in the first two Grands Prix of the season. That followed on from a strong second half of his rookie campaign in F1 last year, with the fourth place he earned in Mexico City the pick of the results.
While Bearman crashed out of the recent Japanese Grand Prix, his early performances currently leave him seventh in the Drivers’ Championship standings – above the likes of both Red Bull drivers and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
“I haven’t seen [his] limit yet,” Komatsu told Beyond The Grid when asked about his driver. “I’m really looking forward to this year. He’s got huge, huge potential.”
As Bearman continues to shine for Haas – the Briton ended up beating his more experienced team mate Esteban Ocon in the 2025 standings for good measure – links surrounding a future move to Ferrari will also grow stronger.
That’s because the youngster has close ties with the Scuderia, having been an Academy driver for the team, and he famously made his F1 debut for Ferrari at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when he stood in for Carlos Sainz after the Spaniard was forced to withdraw due to appendicitis.
Haas also have a close relationship with Ferrari themselves, using the Italian marque’s power units in the VF-26.
Ferrari currently have Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in their two race seats – with the Monegasque signing a long-term contract extension in 2024, while Hamilton was signed on a multi-year deal from 2025.
But such has been Bearman’s rise, it remains to be seen if or when the Scuderia might start thinking about a promotion for the youngster.
“It’s no point worrying about it,” said Komatsu when asked if he was worried about potentially losing Bearman to the Scuderia in future.
“I’m a strong believer in controlling what you can control. Ferrari has been investing in him for many, many years.
“So, we’ve got him for last year and this year, so we’ve got to focus on what we can control. If we’ve done a great job with Ollie, and Ollie performed so well that Ferrari really wants to take him the following year, we have to be happy that we’ve done our job.
“[In the future] that’ll be just a discussion between us and Ferrari. We all are just focused on getting the best performance out of the car and out of Ollie. If that meant we lost him for next year, hopefully not. But that’s not something we can control.”
Haas sit fourth in the Constructors’ Championship after their strong start to the season, at the head of the midfield and two points clear of Alpine and Red Bull.
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