Photo: @HaasF1Team
Oliver Bearman will graduate to Formula 1 after securing a full-time drive at Haas for 2025.
Bearman already has one Grand Prix start under his belt, substituting for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, finishing an impressive seventh.
The Brit is currently enduring a tough second season of Formula 2, lying 14th in the drivers' standings with a sole Sprint win at Austria to his credit.
Bearman will replace Nico Hulkenberg at Haas with the German veteran Sauber-bound for 2025.
"It's hard to put into words just how much this means to me," said Bearman in a Haas press release. "To say out loud that I will be a Formula 1 driver for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team makes me so immensely proud. To be one of the very few people who get to do the thing 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 for trusting me to represent your team. I've really enjoyed working with everyone since the first time we met in Mexico, and I can't wait to enjoy this moment with them and, hopefully, many more in the future."
He then caught Ferrari's eye by qualifying for the Ferrari Driver Academy's scouting world final in October 2021. After the final, Bearman joined the Ferrari driver academy with Brazilian Rafael Câmara.
For 2022, Bearman moved up to Formula 3 with PREMA and was again impressive, taking seven podiums and one victory, finishing third in the championship behind Frenchman Victor Martins.
F2 was the next step for him, and he quickly stamped his mark on the series with a superb double at Baku, taking pole position with damaged steering. Bearman added two more feature race wins in Spain and Italy, finishing sixth in the drivers standings.
Near the end of 2023, Bearman made his F1 race weekend debut in an FP1 session for Haas at last October's Mexico City GP, setting the 15th fastest time. His second FP1 outing came at November's Abu Dhabi GP, completing 24 laps in the one-hour session.
With little time to adapt, he produced a stellar performance. He qualified a respectable 11th before driving a clean race to seventh, scoring his first F1 points and earning the praise of Lewis Hamilton.
Bearman was back in an F1 car for May's Emilia Romagna GP at Imola, replacing Kevin Magnussen at Haas for FP1. Once again, Bearman impressed, setting the 15th fastest time of the session. In June, the youngster completed another FP1 for Haas, this time replacing Hulkenberg, finishing the session 19th just over two-tenths slower than Magnussen.
Bearman will be back in the Haas for FP1 at Silverstone, with Alpine third driver Jack Doohan and Williams' junior driver Franco Colapinto also participating in the session.
Recent Alpine departee Esteban Ocon has been heavily linked with the second seat at the American outfit, while Sauber's Zhou Guanyu is also in the running.
Magnussen can still retain his seat, but the Dane is openly exploring his options in other series, such as the World Endurance Championship and IndyCar for 2025.
The Brit is currently enduring a tough second season of Formula 2, lying 14th in the drivers' standings with a sole Sprint win at Austria to his credit.
Bearman will replace Nico Hulkenberg at Haas with the German veteran Sauber-bound for 2025.
"It's hard to put into words just how much this means to me," said Bearman in a Haas press release. "To say out loud that I will be a Formula 1 driver for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team makes me so immensely proud. To be one of the very few people who get to do the thing 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 for trusting me to represent your team. I've really enjoyed working with everyone since the first time we met in Mexico, and I can't wait to enjoy this moment with them and, hopefully, many more in the future."
A meteoric rise through the feeder series ranks
Bearman started appearing on many people's radars after an impressive 2021 season which saw him win both the Italian and German Formula 4 championships for Van Amersfoort Racing.He then caught Ferrari's eye by qualifying for the Ferrari Driver Academy's scouting world final in October 2021. After the final, Bearman joined the Ferrari driver academy with Brazilian Rafael Câmara.
For 2022, Bearman moved up to Formula 3 with PREMA and was again impressive, taking seven podiums and one victory, finishing third in the championship behind Frenchman Victor Martins.
F2 was the next step for him, and he quickly stamped his mark on the series with a superb double at Baku, taking pole position with damaged steering. Bearman added two more feature race wins in Spain and Italy, finishing sixth in the drivers standings.
Near the end of 2023, Bearman made his F1 race weekend debut in an FP1 session for Haas at last October's Mexico City GP, setting the 15th fastest time. His second FP1 outing came at November's Abu Dhabi GP, completing 24 laps in the one-hour session.
Plenty of F1 experience under his belt
After impressing in Mexico and Abu Dhabi, Bearman was awarded the reserve driver roles at both Haas and Ferrari for 2024. His F1 debut came rather unexpectedly after being called up by Ferrari to replace an ill Sainz on the eve of the final practice session before qualifying.With little time to adapt, he produced a stellar performance. He qualified a respectable 11th before driving a clean race to seventh, scoring his first F1 points and earning the praise of Lewis Hamilton.
Bearman was back in an F1 car for May's Emilia Romagna GP at Imola, replacing Kevin Magnussen at Haas for FP1. Once again, Bearman impressed, setting the 15th fastest time of the session. In June, the youngster completed another FP1 for Haas, this time replacing Hulkenberg, finishing the session 19th just over two-tenths slower than Magnussen.
Bearman will be back in the Haas for FP1 at Silverstone, with Alpine third driver Jack Doohan and Williams' junior driver Franco Colapinto also participating in the session.
Who is likely to partner Bearman at Haas?
With one-half of their 2025 driver lineup confirmed, attention now turns to who will get the second seat at Haas.Recent Alpine departee Esteban Ocon has been heavily linked with the second seat at the American outfit, while Sauber's Zhou Guanyu is also in the running.
Magnussen can still retain his seat, but the Dane is openly exploring his options in other series, such as the World Endurance Championship and IndyCar for 2025.
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