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Ayao Komatsu has lashed out at the "total nonsense" rumour that Oliver Bearman's salary demands are behind the delay of an agreement for 2027. It is true that, despite an impressive second season in Formula One with Haas, Brit Bearman has yet to secure his place on next year's grid with the team. And the wait has caused speculation over why that might be the case. One rumour which has gained traction on social media in recent days suggests Bearman has asked for an enormous salary figure.
Bearman is believed to be earning less than £1million per year from the contract he signed in summer 2024 to secure his first F1 race seat as a rookie. His performances for the team over the last two years suggest a pay rise on that figure is warranted, though Haas remain F1's smallest team with a limited budget.
So if it were true, as has been suggested, that Bearman is demanding a €6million (£5m) salary for his next contract, then that would clearly be a major sticking point between team and driver. However, asked about it in Friday's press conference at the Mexico City Grand Prix, Haas team principal Komatsu dismissed the claim out of hand.
He said: "I have no idea where that comes from. Honestly. I've experienced this sometimes this season as well. Some people say there's no smoke without fire but, really, some people invent the story.
"It happened in Miami, about apparently I had an argument with Esteban Ocon? That's just absolutely zero truth in there. Even those people claiming that they had some insider information, etcetera, absolute total nonsense. And this one, again.
"I don't know who smoked up this six million euro number. The first time I saw it on Instagram or something, Stuart [Morrison, Haas communications chief] forwarded to me. I was just like, 'Oh, another great somebody came up with this, a good thing to stir whatever up.'
"I have no comment to make because it's just not even close to the truth. Why do we engage in such absolute nonsense? What's the point of it? Those people are clearly not trying to help anything, right?
"And then it's amazing these days that people don't check the source. So, 'Okay, 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. Before you know it, there are 20 people running the stories, so they think it's the truth. It's absolute nonsense."
Komatsu was not willing to go into details about why no agreement has yet been reached between driver and team. But he told reporters including Express Sport earlier this month that he is keen to keep Bearman around, while the Brit said in Mexico this week that he wants to continue the working relationship.
He said: "I think it's very clear: I want to continue with Haas, that's definitely my goal. There are a few things in the background that we're working on, but it's been very clear that continuing with Haas will be my target, and we're just finalising a few things on that front."
Asked when an announcement might come, Bearman added: "I don't know, to be honest. It's not really in my hands, I can tell you that. If it was up to me, it would have already been announced a long time ago. But there are a few bigger-picture things that we're working on."
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