Official: Young Oliver Bearman signs with Haas for 2025
The transfer market continues to heat up with the American Haas team announcing the signing of the British driver for 2025. Carrying out the first free practice session this weekend for Gene Haas' team, Bearman thus becomes the 14th confirmed driver for next year.
A breath of fresh air blows over Formula 1 ahead of the 2025 season. After a dull winter in terms of driver transfers in 2023 (there were no changes in drivers between 2023 and 2024), teams are shaking up their line-ups, as Haas has just confirmed its first driver in the person of Ollie Bearman, a protege of Scuderia Ferrari.
The dream has therefore become a reality for the young British driver at Prema. He had explained after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when he replaced Carlos Sainz, who was suffering from appendicitis, at Ferrari that he had to continue to push in F2 to ensure he could obtain this seat in F1, so he will now have the opportunity for a first season in the premier category. An opportunity for him to showcase his abilities at Haas, but also at Ferrari in a challenging season for him.
« Yes, it’s been very difficult. We know that we are struggling a bit to understand this car and that we lack a bit of pace. » His team, Prema, usually fighting for the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, is experiencing a complicated season this year due to the new technical regulations in Formula 2 that the Italian team has not yet managed to assimilate. The team has only scored 76 points since the start of the championship and is currently in 8th place in the constructors’ standings.
However, Haas still decides to trust him for next year. The team director Ayao Komatsu recently justified this decision by explaining that he probably pays more attention to what we do with him, to the way he behaves in our environment.
He also described Bearman as impressive and explained that what he was able to show in Mexico and Abu Dhabi last year was that he had speed, indicating the confidence placed in him even though his results are mixed this year (only one victory in the sprint race in Austria).
Translate: « He needs to perform well in F2, that’s for sure. But when we work directly with him, we need to understand all the ins and outs, the whole environment or the reasoning behind certain things. » For the Japanese, the tests carried out by Ollie Bearman with Haas during free practice are worth more than his F2 season.
Let’s remember that the British driver will carry out six free practice sessions for Haas this season, including this weekend’s at Silverstone, allowing 4 British drivers to be lined up during the first hour of driving and demonstrating to the American team that they are right to trust him for next season.
On his side, Günther Steiner, former boss of Haas, has made a decision. For him, Bearman would be a good choice for the American team, which therefore has high hopes for this young driver.
