After making his debut in Ferrari at the Grand Prix ofSaudi Arabia in place of Carlos Sainz, winning the first world championship points of his short career on the first try Oliver Bearman is ready for a starting place with Haas in the next Formula 1 season. The English driver currently engaged with Prema in F2 will take on the legacy the seat of Nico Hulkenberg.
Oliver Bearman will be a Haas driver, the announcement comes
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal of Haas had recently admitted that he wanted to announce the line up for 2025 as soon as possible, aiming for a combination of youth and experience. There are many young people, but one in particular has always been linked to Haas, above all due to his closeness to the team. The rumors were confirmed today. Haas has in fact announced, on the eve of Bearman's home race, the Silverstone GP, the first name of the 2025 line up, opening the doors of F1 to another promising young driver from Essex, nineteen year old Oliver Bearman. Bearman is linked to the Ferrari Driver Academy program and already holds the role of third Ferrari and Haas driver.
The credit for this negotiation can only go above all to Ayao Komatsu and his new management of the team after Gunther Steiner's farewell at the beginning of the season. The new Haas Team Principal has in fact chosen to promote young talents within the program to relaunch a team in great difficulty. Haas has already had some young drivers in the team with the Schumacher – Mazepin duo. However, neither of the two drivers had the right space to grow and the flame quickly went out, convincing Steiner to focus solely and exclusively on experience.
Komatsu wants to take that path again but with a different approach, to help not only Bearman but also the team grow. Bearman's contract does not have a specific expiration date but Haas explained that it wanted to reward the young driver with a multi-year contract.
Komatsu's words
The Japanese Team Principal has always placed great trust in Bearman, praising his performances both in free practice and on his debut in an official race in Saudi Arabia. The race that put Bearman before the eyes of the world, making him extremely popular and convincing Haas to focus on him for next season and beyond with 2 seats to fill.
“It's exciting to be able to give a talented young driver like Oliver Bearman his first full-time seat in Formula 1. He has developed into an incredibly mature driver under the guidance of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and the world saw it with its own eyes when he was called up at the last minute to participate in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.”
“Oliver has demonstrated that he is more than ready for this task, and we have seen this ourselves by racing him with the Haas in FP1 sessions over the last two seasons. We look forward to helping him develop further as a driver and reaping the benefits of his talent, both in and out of the car. Oliver is a fantastic guy and is a very welcome addition to the team when he joins us for the FP1 weekends. Now that we know the relationship will be long-term, it's a positive thing for everyone involved."
Bearman's words
These are the words of Oliver Bearman, who while waiting to debut as an official driver in 2025 will still have free practice sessions to run this season.
“It's hard to put into words how much this means to me,” said Oliver Bearman. “Saying out loud that I will be a Formula 1 driver for the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team makes me immensely proud. Being one of the very few people who get to do what they dreamed of as a child is something truly incredible. To Gene, Ayao and everyone at Haas, thank you for believing in me and trusting me to represent your team.”
“I have loved working with everyone since we first met in Mexico and I look forward to enjoying this time with them and hopefully many more in the future. To Fred, Marco, Jock, Alessandro and everyone at the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy, I simply wouldn't be here without you. I thank you for preparing me since F4 for this incredible opportunity and I know that I will give everything I have."
