How Haas are preparing Oliver Bearman for F1 stardom and Lewis Hamilton succession at Ferrari

Oliver Bearman has the potential to become a top Formula 1 star and has been showing it since he was a teenager. The Brit turned heads last year with a sensational showing on debut, called up by Ferrari as an 18-year-old to replace the unwell Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia.

On an unfamiliar track, Bearman finished seventh and ahead of British superstars Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. Now 20 and in his first full season on the F1 grid, he's learning his trade with midfield outfit Haas whose boss Ayao Komatsu is desperate to help him become a superstar.

"I definitely feel the responsibility, in a good way," he told Mirror Sport. "Absolutely, because like I said, when I met him when he was 18 and I was like, 'Wow, this guy is a talent'. He has got such a big potential. I saw that more and more last year when we worked with him on practice sessions. For sure, it's a big responsibility for us as a team to nurture that talent and then make sure that we give him the best possible environment.

"But really we're doing it together. He needs to be a fully integrated part of the team. And even though he's a rookie, he's got a lot to offer in terms of being the central part of the development, which he has been doing. So we have to treat him as a rookie. But, at the same time, in some areas, we're not treating him as a rookie because he is very, very good."

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Bearman was handed a multi-year contract by Haas, giving him at least two full seasons to hone his skills. But he remains affiliated with Ferrari and likely future successor to Hamilton, when the seven-time F1 champion retires.

That is big billing, but it has been obvious to Ferrari and to Komatsu for some time that Bearman can go very far. The Japanese said: "Potential? We saw it from day one. That's one of the reasons why we signed him.

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"We've got to nurture that talent. We've got to establish the methodology, the procedure that really works so that he can reach his full potential and for him to get maximum out of the car, out of the team consistently. We're far from there yet, but that's to be expected as a rookie."

Bearman made a strong start to 2025, scoring points in three of the first four races. He hasn't managed a top 10 result since with Haas' development stunted by an early-season design change after a major flaw was discovered in Melbourne. But he heads into his home race for the first time in F1 off the back of consecutive 11th-placed finishes and, while points are obviously crucial, what matters more to Komatsu is his progress.

He said: "You cannot say points are not important, but you cannot be too focused on the points either because points are the result, and you cannot be just too focused on the results. Why? Because sometimes the result is not something you can control. You've got competitors.

"But what you can focus on is what you can control, which is your process, methodology, how you apply yourself throughout the weekend, how you set yourself up as best as possible for qualifying and the race, and the result will be the result. So yes, we are definitely focused a lot in terms of our process, how to get the best out of him, how he can get the best out of the car and understanding working together as a team."