Ollie Bearman delivered a punchy performance at the Japanese GP, dragging his Haas to 10th place and into the points, much to the delight of team principal Ayao Komatsu. The Suzuka Circuit wasn’t meant to be a happy hunting ground for Haas, but thanks to Bearman, they left with a valuable point in their pockets.
Komatsu, who has overseen a significant turnaround at Haas since taking charge, didn’t hide his satisfaction. The rookie’s result didn’t just earn a point, it validated Haas’s latest floor upgrade and the team’s overnight grind to get the car into a competitive window.
“Of course, I’m happy, yeah,” Komatsu said in a print media session post-race. “Because at the start of this weekend, we expected a huge challenge. And if you look at Friday, we just worked, you know, in terms of sorting out the Melbourne issue, getting the car in the right window, etc. But if you look at our competitiveness on Friday, we didn’t look like we were getting out of Q1.”
The turnaround was remarkable. After looking lacklustre on Friday, Bearman not only reached Q3 but translated that pace into a strong Sunday, holding off two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in the dying stages to finish in tenth place.
“So Friday night I was focusing, how can we get a bit more performance out of the car, stroke driver, to get out of Q1,” Komatsu explained. “Then we tweaked a few things overnight, and then FP3 to qualifying, and then, yeah, to get to Q3 was amazing. And then today, for everyone to execute the race in that way and Ollie to drive in that way, to get P10 was a really good reward.”
Komatsu confirmed they never doubted Bearman’s talent, which was why they signed him
Bearman’s performances have been a running theme this season. While Melbourne was a blip, the 19-year-old has shown composure beyond his years, something Komatsu and the team were never in doubt about. When asked if the team were impressed with the rookie’s feedback, Komastsu said:
“Yeah, but we knew that from last year. This is a big part of the reason why we signed Ollie.” Komatsu added, “We started working with him in Mexico in ‘23 when he was 18, it was impressive straight away in that regard. And then last year, every time we worked with him, his feedback was accurate.”
“He understood the programme, he understood the objectives. So it’s not just about driving fast. Of course, he can drive fast, but he really is able to, let’s say, digest or understand what’s required of him and then execute the programme.”
Komatsu comments on the contrasting performances of Ocon and Bearman at Suzuka
Bearman’s strong showing highlighted the gains from Haas’s new floor, but it wasn’t smooth sailing for both drivers. Teammate Esteban Ocon, who complained about having no grip in qualifying, took a different strategy with hard tyres, one that didn’t pay off without a timely Safety Car. And when questioned if the Frenchman didn’t get the upgrade, Komatsu was quick to clear the air.
“No, no, but we equalised the car on the Friday night,” he clarified. “I don’t know if you were here, but in FP2, so we pushed the car in FP1, but we didn’t see the clear difference, but we pushed it further in FP2, and then we saw it straight away.”
“So we had to, let’s say, go one step back on Esteban’s car on Friday FP2. So that proved that the new floor was having a positive impact, making a difference. On Friday night, we put Esteban on a brand-new floor which is the upgrade. So they had the same spec.”
The Haas team principal brushed off any doubts that if Bearman had been overseeing the floor all weekend, it likely made him feel more at ease with the situation compared to Ocon.
“No, no, no, the data is pretty clear. It’s working,” Komatsu confirmed. “So we haven’t understood why Esteban couldn’t perform. Both cars, as far as we can see, are performing very close to each other. Within the resolution, what we can measure? Not to say there might be something that we cannot measure, but so far we haven’t found anything.”
With Haas now sixth in the standings and already bagging 15 points in three races, the Haas F1 team are the team to look out for in the mid-field. And with Bearman rising fast and the upgrades clicking, Komatsu’s crew might surprise people in races ahead.
