Ollie Bearman officially behind the wheel at Haas for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Suspended for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen will be replaced by Ollie Bearman in Baku. The 19-year-old Briton, who will drive for the team in 2025, will compete in his first GP with his team Haas next week, as announced by the team this Friday.
As he will begin his first season as a Formula 1 driver next year with the Haas team, Ollie Bearman will compete in his first Grand Prix with the American team next week in Baku. The announcement, which was expected, was made this Friday.
Ollie to drive at the #AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿
Ollie will step in to the VF-24 alongside Nico for the weekend, following Kevin’s one-race suspension in Baku. #HaasF1 #F1 pic.twitter.com/7euWB0C8h5
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) September 6, 2024
Ayao Komatsu, director of the Haas team, commented: “I am delighted that Ollie will be driving the VF-24 alongside Nico in Baku. He has already shown great promise during his outings in FP1 and during post-season tests. This is another excellent opportunity for Ollie and the team to work together, this time throughout an entire race weekend, and he couldn’t ask for a better teammate than Nico to provide him with a reference.”
The young British driver is taking advantage of the suspension of Kevin Magnussen to make his debut with his future team. The Danish driver has indeed reached the limit of 12 penalty points on his Super Licence during the recent Italian GP, causing him to miss the next race on the calendar.
A second GP this season after Saudi Arabia
Ollie Bearman, who has already participated in several free practice sessions this season with Haas, will therefore start a Formula 1 Grand Prix for the second time this season. He had indeed driven for Ferrari, replacing an ill Carlos Sainz, during the Saudi Arabian GP last March. Starting 11th on the grid, the Englishman delivered a remarkable performance, finishing 7th and being elected driver of the day.
« It is certainly more of a challenge to run as a reserve driver, with limited preparation time […] but I’m lucky to have done it earlier this year with Scuderia Ferrari, so I can at least rely on that experience », said Ollie Bearman. « I am in good shape at the moment and I will do my best to be ready with the time we have. The goal is to go out on track and have a good weekend in Azerbaijan. »
He who won his second F2 race of the season at Monza will therefore have a new opportunity to prove to his team that they made the right choice in betting on him for next season. Before being paired with Esteban Ocon, also recruited by Haas for 2025, Bearman will share the American team with Nico Hülkenberg in Baku.
