Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu has commended the level of maturity exhibited by Oliver Bearman Both on and off the track following the Formula 1 newcomer securing a top-10 result at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

After moving up to eighth place in China due to disqualification of the previous ranked athletes, they had previously held the 10th position. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc Bearman secured an additional point at Suzuka, starting the race in 10th place and ultimately crossing the finish line in the same position.

Bearman and Komatsu expressed astonishment when the 19-year-old managed to advance from Q1, not to mention reaching the top-10 shootouts.

The accomplishment was even more remarkable considering Haas brought an unproven aerodynamic package to Japan.

Bearman managed to succeed where his more seasoned teammate did not. Esteban Ocon fought, and Komatsu maintained that he wasn’t shocked by the young person’s capability to relay vital data back to the group.

“He mentioned that they were aware of this since last year, which was one of the main reasons for bringing onboard Ollie,” it was stated.

We began collaborating with him in Mexico starting from '23 when he was just 18 years old. From the very beginning, he stood out in this aspect. Then, throughout last year, each time we worked together, his input was precise, he grasped the program thoroughly, and he clearly understood our goals.

So it's not merely about going fast; certainly, he can go fast. However, his true strength lies in comprehending what is expected of him and executing the plan accordingly. This is excellent news, though we aren’t taken aback. I’m not shocked since we were aware of his significant potential.

Oliver Bearman with the Haas F1 Team

Photo credit: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

For all of us to perform in such a manner during the race and for Ollie to steer the car to finish tenth was indeed a great accomplishment. It shows how much effort goes into earning even a single point. I am quite satisfied that we were able to secure some positive outcomes from this weekend.

If you consider our competitiveness from Friday, it seemed unlikely that we would advance past Q1. So, during Friday night, my focus was on finding ways to extract better performance from both the car and the driver to ensure progression beyond Q1. We made some adjustments overnight, fine-tuned further in FP3, and ultimately reached Q3 for an incredible achievement.

Although Haas undoubtedly made significant progress in performance, Komatsu acknowledged that introducing the new floor to Japan involved somewhat of a "gamble."

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While this outcome shows that the gamble was worthwhile, subsequent upgrades to the vehicle will not be approached with such risks.

It’s not difficult since everything is quite straightforward," he stated regarding the constraint imposed by other updates. "Of course, this depends on the magnitude of the problem.

The reality is that this upgrade we implemented has effectively done what it was meant to do, which alleviates some of the stress involved. If it hadn’t made any impact and we still needed to configure the car within a less effective range, that would add more pressure, as in 'oh crap, we didn't solve anything.'

“However, we understood that in different regions, without going through the meticulous repetitive procedure, we could lose our way entirely. Thus, it was beneficial that this approach succeeded; nonetheless, for upcoming progress, we will not take shortcuts.”