Haas F1 boss reveals 'discussions' over Lewis Hamilton replacement

lewis hamilton, oliver bearman, charles leclerc, jeddah — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Haas F1 boss reveals 'discussions' over Lewis Hamilton replacement

Lewis Hamilton has not performed well at Ferrari

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Monday 13 April 2026 21:03

Haas F1 boss Ayao Komatsu has suggested that 'discussions' are under way surrounding his star driver Oliver Bearman.

Bearman has had a brilliant start to his F1 career, and is largely being considered as a future replacement for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.

Hamilton has struggled since moving to Ferrari, finishing 86 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in 2025, and is eight points behind Leclerc again already in 2026, the final year of his current contract.

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With a former Ferrari academy driver performing so well at Haas in Bearman at a fraction of the cost of Hamilton, there have been suggestions that the young Brit could be in line to replace Hamilton at the Maranello-based outfit.

Bearman's boss Ayao Komatsu recently opened up about the possibility of Haas losing their star driver to Ferrari, admitting that it is likely to happen at some point.

Asked if there is a timeline on talks with Ferrari about this, he replied: "Yeah, but that’s just a discussion between us and Ferrari.

"But, seriously, we are all just focused on getting the best performance out of the car and out of Ollie.

"If that means we lose him for next year - hopefully not, but that’s not something we can control."

Bearman's excellent form

Having been given a full-time seat in the sport for the first time last year, Bearman suffered some inconsistent results at Haas in his rookie year.

But he finished the season brilliantly, eventually finishing above much more experienced team-mate Esteban Ocon in the drivers' championship.

Bearman achieved a fourth-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix in November, Haas' joint-best result in their history.

He has started 2026 off in fine form too, picking up a fifth-place finish in China and a seventh-place finish at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

It means that the 20-year-old is a hot prospect in the sport, and could find himself with one of the big four teams for the 2027 season.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Haas Oliver Bearman