Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has warned Formula 1 against making “knee-jerk reaction changes” to the sport’s 2026 regulations after his driver Oliver Bearman was involved in a high-speed crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Bearman went onto the grass and spun at over 190mph before hitting the barriers while trying to avoid Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, with an estimated 30mph speed differential between the cars leaving the Brit little time to react. The incident prompted debate after Sunday’s race at Suzuka, with drivers concerned that the 2026 regulations — which require cars to slow to harvest energy at the end of straights — can create dangerous speed differentials.
Williams driver Carlos Sainz urged the FIA to make racing “safer”, and the sport’s governing body said it would hold meetings during the five-week gap before the Miami Grand Prix to discuss potential changes.
Despite Bearman being cleared of serious injury, Komatsu urged patience. “We’re looking at it from all dimensions because, when we make changes, we’ve got to make the correct ones,” he told Sky Sports News. “We cannot be making knee-jerk reaction changes and then a few races later be saying, ‘that was the wrong option’. The good thing is that the F1 community, all the teams, the FIA, F1, we’re all working together in a really open and transparent manner, which I don’t think I’ve seen to this extent before. I’m pretty confident that F1, as a community, we’ll find the right solution to whatever things we need to improve.”
On Bearman’s condition, Komatsu said the 20-year-old is “fine” and escaped with a bruised knee but no fractures. “I’m really grateful that he came away with nothing too serious. He should be back fully ready for Miami,” Komatsu added.
Haas have enjoyed a strong start to the season and sit fourth in the Constructors’ Championship after three rounds, a position Komatsu admitted he would have “laughed” at before the campaign. Bearman finished seventh in Australia and fifth in China, while team-mate Esteban Ocon scored his first point with 10th in Japan.
Komatsu cautioned it would be unrealistic to expect the team to hold that position amid a tough development race. “This year is going to be a very tough development war, and as a small team, it’s going to be very challenging,” he said. “But we’ve started this year very well. This kind of result doesn’t come along every single year. We are in a very good position but it’s not about protecting that position, it’s not about really keeping that position, it’s about maximising our capability, looking at our process and forecasts, and then getting the best out of car, our team and our drivers, so we’re going to be focused on that.”
Formula 1 returns May 1-3 with the Miami Grand Prix, the season’s second Sprint weekend.
