Oliver Bearman may ultimately replace Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari after telling comment
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Oliver Bearman's boss insists he will be proud if he loses the British teenage starlet in two years' time. The 19-year-old from Essex will race for the American squad this year after landing his first full-time Formula 1 seat. Bearman has been placed with Haas by parent team Ferrari who hope he can one day be the long-term successor to Lewis Hamilton.
He has a two-year contract and, if he can continue his fine form shown in his three substitute appearances last year, then Haas will reap the rewards during that period. But team principal Ayao Komatsu says he will not be frustrated to lose the talented Brit, should Ferrari come calling, and would instead take it as a compliment.
Asked by Mirror Sport , he said: "It's not frustrating at all, to be honest with you. I think it's amazing that we had access to Oli. "It's thanks to our relationship with Ferrari that we have Oli, we had him racing for us in Baku and Interlagos [in 2024]. That's actually a positive and a benefit for us.
"The fact that we've got two years solid with Oli, provided that nothing happens with Lewis and Charles [Leclerc] at Ferrari, is great. If we work together and make improvements together such that, at the end of '26, Ferrari insists that they want to have Oli in their car, that has to be a compliment to us.
"So honestly, looking at it at least for the short term, the next two years, I feel really good that we actually have access to Oli and we can help him as a race driver.". Haas are F1's youngest team heading into their 10th season on the grid. Their ability to race heavily relies upon the support of Ferrari who supply engines, gearboxes and plenty of other parts, as well as personnel, to the Banbury-based squad. And though he insists he is in no hurry to do so, Komatsu admits the time will come in the future when Haas will need to start focusing on developing their own talent rather than training drivers for Ferrari.
