Haas on why 'faster than Nico Hulkenberg' Ollie Bearman won't be treated as a rookie within the team

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has claimed that Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman would not be treated as a rookie within the team as he's already shown he was faster than Nico Hulkenberg when he got the chance. The young Brit would be competing in his first full season for the American team in 2025.

Bearman has, however, competed in a handful of races in 2024, as he was a replacement for Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in Jeddah and Kevin Magnussen at Haas in Baku and Brazil. During these appearances, he showed impressive pace and maturity. In both races for the American team, he was very competitive against Nico Hulkenberg, who was the benchmark in the team.

Talking to the media, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu was very high on the prospect of having Ollie Bearman on the team as he admitted he's been very impressed by what he's seen from him. So much so that the team boss claimed that he would not be treating him as a rookie in 2025. He told a select group of media, including RacingNews365.

"I don't treat him as a rookie. He can drive a lot and with these young engineers they can grow together. And we don't treat him as a rookie, because we pay a lot of attention to what he has to say. He already has a good amount of experience, with his training at Ferrari and in the simulator. He has driven our cars, the VF-23 and VF-24."

He added:

"Every time he gets in the car, his feedback is great, his approach is excellent, his speed is great. You saw in qualifying in Baku and Interlagos that he was better than Nico, while he was our reference."

Haas prepared to let Ollie Bearman leave if Ferrari is impressed by what he can achieve

Ollie Bearman is a Ferrari-backed driver and a part of the team's driver academy. If the Brit does end up performing at a high level at Haas, it could make the Italian team think about what it wants to do next with the driver as a possible promotion is not out of the question.

Komatsu is completely aware of such a possibility and said that Bearman getting called up by the Italian team is certainly a possibility. He said:

"Yes. He is a Ferrari driver and we have him for two years, a total of two plus one (an option for a third year, ed.). But if we do well (with him), before he does well, Ferrari cannot possibly ignore that."

Bearman would be teamed up with Esteban Ocon in his first full season in F1 and the Frenchman should be a strong enough benchmark for the Brit to show what he's capable of in the sport.