Haas have lost one of their drivers for the 2025 season, with Nico Hulkenberg joining Sauber. As it stands, Oliver Bearman is the favourite to replace him.
Bearman drove in two FP1 sessions for the team last year and will take part in six more this season, starting in Imola this weekend. Since his superb stand-in showing for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in March, it’s seemed like only a matter of time before a full-time F1 debut.
The Scuderia called up Bearman as an emergency after Carlos Sainz was admitted to hospital with appendicitis. With only one practice session and one qualifying under his belt, he finished seventh and won driver of the day.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has said it would be ‘easy’ to promote the teenager if he delivers in his practice sessions this year. He’s also racing in F2 with Prema alongside Mercedes youngster Kimi Antonelli.
Komatsu’s predecessor Guenther Steiner is ‘pretty sure’ that the Briton will racing in F1 next year. But there are some question marks over the identity of his teammate.
Kevin Magnussen may have thought he was safe when Hulkenberg left given that it presented a clear vacancy for Bearman alongside him. But that might not be the case.
Haas believe Valtteri Bottas could be ideal teammate for Oliver Bearman
Magnussen’s chances of remaining at Haas appear to have suffered after a somewhat disastrous weekend in Miami. He helped teammate Hulkenberg score two points in the Sprint by holding up Lewis Hamilton, but amassed multiple penalties in doing so.
Haas were ‘pretty cross’ at the suggestion that he was forced to drive in this manner. And to make matters worse, he then took out Logan Sargeant in the race to increase his tally of penalty points for the weekend to five.
That puts Magnussen on 10 overall, only two short of the race-ban threshold. He’ll now have to keep his nose clean for the next year or so, though some in the paddock feel he already deserves a suspension.
The Dane has only scored one of the team’s seven points so far this season, with Hulkenberg dominant in the internal battle. He leads 4-2 in qualifying and 5-1 in the races.
According to Formula Passion, Magnussen now finds himself at ‘serious’ risk of losing his seat for next year. Haas are already weighing up potential replacements.
‘One of the strongest names’ in the discussion is Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas. Ironically, Bottas may be the victim of Hulkenberg’s move to the Swiss outfit.
But the £154k-a-week driver (Spotrac) brings race-winning experience from his time at Mercedes. And the team believe this would be ‘useful’ for ‘encouraging the growth’ of Bearman.
Haas could also pursue Zhou Guanyu and Logan Sargeant
Bottas isn’t the only driver in contention for a seat with the American outfit. A separate report has claimed that Zhou Guanyu is the favourite.
Both Bottas and Zhou could lose their seats at Sauber ahead of the transition to Audi. But the Chinese driver has the advantage of considerable backing from sponsors.
Elsewhere, Sargeant could be a surprise option. The Williams driver’s management is now entering talks with Haas as they confront the possibility that he’ll lose his seat to Antonelli.
Komatsu’s team have already scored more than half the number of points they managed in the whole of last season (12). This improvement will make them a more attractive destination for the litany of drivers who are out contract for 2025.
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