Oliver Bearman is hoping to earn a full-time F1 debut with Haas in 2025. Bearman got a taste of the sport at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when he stood in for the unwell Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
The Briton is also carrying out a reserve role with Haas, one that includes six FP1 outings over the course of the year. He logged the first of those at the Emila Romagna GP last month, and the next one is pencilled in for the Spanish GP later in June.
Haas have a seat open for next year after Nico Hulkenberg opted to join Audi. Bearman is the clear favourite to replace him after his impressive showing in Jeddah.
There have been varying reports on the situation. Sky Sports F1’s Rachel Brookes heard that ‘he will be in one of those seats’, while journalist Edd Straw added that he was ‘as close’ as possible to securing a deal without total confirmation.
Team principal Ayao Komatsu seems keen to promote him, but owner Gene Haas is yet to be convinced. He’s wary of hiring another rookie after the difficulties the team had with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin in 2021.
For Haas, there’s little need to rush. There’s no immediate danger of Ferrari academy driver Bearman going elsewhere, so they can afford to take the time to fully assess him.
Oliver Bearman warned that F1 involvement could hurt F2 campaign
While he starred on his F1 bow, scoring the best result for a debutant since 2015 and winning driver of the day, Bearman is finding life more difficult in F2. After five rounds, he’s only 13th in the championship.
It’s worth noting that he did miss both races in Saudi Arabia after his Ferrari call-up. He was due to start on pole for the Feature Race too, so it likely cost him a significant haul of points.
But still, he’s averaging 4.5 points per weekend, while Prema teammate Kimi Antonelli is delivering 9.6. Antonelli could also graduate to F1 next year, whether that’s with Mercedes or Williams.
Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, former Haas boss Guenther Steiner flagged up one possible concern around Bearman. He says his appearances in F1 this year could be having a negative effect on his F2 campaign.
He said: “I think with Ollie, that race in Formula 1, doing the FP1s, it is a little bit distracting you to do an F2 championship, that’s my opinion. If you can do an F1 race, do six FP1s and win F2, it’s not too easy. It isn’t easy winning F2 with the talent there, like Kimi Antonelli and his people.”
Bearman compared to one of F1’s best drivers after Monaco showing
Bearman will hope that teams put more stock in his F1 showings than they do in his F2 campaign. But both Ferrari and Haas will be keen to see how he navigates the spotlight this year after bursting onto the scene in March.
The 18-year-old took a significant step in the right direction at Monaco last weekend. He finished a season-best fourth in the Feature Race to score a much-needed 12 points.
The highlight of his race was no doubt his overtake on Antonelli at the Loews hairpin. Damon Hill felt their battle was more entertaining than Sunday’s Grand Prix.
And F1 expert Peter Windsor was also impressed by his performance. He likened Bearman to compatriot George Russell, a Grand Prix winner and 11-time podium-finisher at Mercedes.
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