Haas boss Komatsu dismisses €6m Bearman contract rumours as "absolute nonsense"

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu publicly dismissed reports that Oliver Bearman’s management is demanding a €6 million fee to secure his 2026 contract, calling the figure “absolute nonsense” during the FIA press conference ahead of the Mexico Grand Prix weekend.

The rumour originated with an amateur blogger claiming insider knowledge of Formula 1 business matters. The figure was then picked up and repeated by third-party websites and social media influencers until, through sheer repetition, it gained the appearance of credibility — a pattern Komatsu said he has witnessed before this season.

“I have no idea where that comes from,” Komatsu told reporters. “People say there’s no smoke without fire but there really are some people who will invent a story. I don’t know who smoked up this €6 million number. The first time I saw it was on Instagram — I was just like, ‘Oh great, somebody thought this is a good thing to stir whatever up’.”

Komatsu drew a direct parallel with a separate false report earlier in the season that claimed he had argued with then-Haas driver Esteban Ocon in Miami. “Absolutely zero truth in there,” he said, adding that the Bearman story was no different. “Those people are clearly not trying to get anything right — ‘I want to get some more clicks, I want to get some more likes’, so they cut and paste those stories and keep running with it. And then before you know it there are 20 people running the stories and they think it’s the truth.”

Haas has already confirmed that Ocon will leave the team at the end of the current season, with Formula 2 frontrunner Rafael Camara set to take his seat in 2026. Bearman, who joined Haas as a full-time race driver this year after impressing as a Ferrari junior, remains without a confirmed deal for next season.

According to Ferrari insiders, the real source of the delay is more nuanced than any salary dispute. Bearman’s management are understood to be seeking assurances that he has a defined pathway to a race seat at Ferrari itself in 2028, adding a layer of complexity to what might otherwise be a straightforward renewal.