Haas boss on Ollie Bearman wage demand stories: “I don’t know who smoked up €6m”

Haas Formula 1 team principal Ayao Komatsu says stories claiming excessive wage demands are behind the delay of Ollie Bearman's contract renewal for 2027 are “absolute nonsense”. 

Bearman’s continuation at Haas for next season is considered a formality, but questions have been raised with the Briton’s future still yet to be announced despite Haas confirming that Esteban Ocon will be replaced by Rafael Camara earlier this month. 

This has prompted speculation that the hold up might be over salary, with the wildest reports suggesting that Bearman is holding out for a pay rise that would see him pocket at least €6 million. 

But Komatsu was clear what he thought about such rumours when asked ahead of this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix. 

“I have no idea where that’s come from,” Komatsu said. “I've experienced this sometimes this season as well. People say there's no smoke without fire, but some people really invent a story. 

“What happened in Miami about, apparently, I had an argument with Esteban Ocon, that's just absolutely zero truth in there. And even those people claiming that they had some insider information, absolute total nonsense. 

“And this this one, again, I don't know who smoked up this €6 million number. The first time I saw it on Instagram or something that Stu [Morrison, Haas head of communications] forwarded to me. 

“I was just like, ‘oh, another [one] great’. Somebody came up, this is a good thing to stir the whatever up. I have no comments to make because it's just not even close to the truth. Why do we engage in such an absolute nonsense? You know, what's the point of it? 

“Those people clearly are not trying to help anything, right? It’s amazing these days that people don't check the source. It’s ‘okay, I want to get some more clicks, I want to get some more likes’, so they cut and paste all the stories and keep running with it. 

“Before you know it, there are 20 people running the stories and they think it's the truth. It's absolute nonsense.” 

The unfounded claims also contradict Bearman’s position ahead of the weekend when he insisted that the decision is “not really in my hands”. 

Curiously, Komatsu did swerve a question when he was directly asked why there is a delay to the news that is widely expected in the F1 paddock. 

"I don't think I can go into the details of what's the hold-up. I’m sorry I can't answer that question,” Komatsu said. 

“But it’s very clear from both parties, from Ollie's side, our side, TGR Haas F1 Team’s side, we want to continue working together. We work really well together, push each other, most important, really enjoy working together, and he brings a lot to the team. 

“We are growing together, so our our intentions from both parties are fully aligned that we're trying to find a solution to work together next year, and I'm sure we will.”