Oliver Bearman will become the fourth British driver on the F1 grid after signing a deal with Haas for the 2025 season. Bearman will join seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton as well as recent race winners Lando Norris and George Russell.
He’s already driven in his first race, of course, having stepped in for a hospitalised Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in Saudi Arabia. He would finish P7 – the best result for a debutant since March 2015.
Since then, the 19-year-old has returned to his reserve role. He’s driven in two practice sessions for Haas so far this season (Imola and Barcelona) and has four more to come, starting on Friday at Silverstone.
That will be an almost celebratory occasion for Bearman in front of his home crowd. But having signed his contract, he’ll also view it as a valuable opportunity to prepare for next year.
He recently admitted that he was having a ‘really difficult’ time in Formula 2 in 2024, having picked up just 28 points from seven rounds – only enough for 14th in the championship. But his record in the junior categories has previously been excellent.
In 2021, Bearman won both the ADAC Formula 4 and Italian F4 championships. The following year, he graduated to Formula 3, where he finished third, and he then bagged four victories in an impressive F2 bow last season.
Damon Hill tells Oliver Bearman that ‘fun’ is in store
Writing on his Instagram story, F1 legend Damon Hill sent a message to Bearman. He told him that the ‘now the fun really starts’.
The teenager will hope he can achieve similar success at the pinnacle of motorsport. Hill won the title in 1996 and collected 22 wins in his career, in addition to 20 pole positions.
Bearman is set to become the first British rookie to complete a full season since 2019, when Norris and Russell made their debuts for McLaren and Williams respectively. The former finished mid-table that year (P11), while the latter propped up the order in F1’s slowest car.
Based on their performances so far this year, Haas should provide Bearman with the platform to score occasional points. They arrive at Silverstone seventh in the championship between RB and Alpine.
Fred Vasseur has already made demand to Haas about Bearman teammate
In 2021, Haas fielded two rookies, with Mick Schumacher partnering Nikita Mazepin. They soon decided that they needed an experienced presence in the team, which is why they brought back Kevin Magnussen.
This time around, Ayao Komatsu may pursue a balance. With a rookie in one seat, he’ll likely want a proven performer in the other.
There are major doubts over whether Magnussen will be that man. He reportedly ranks below Esteban Ocon and Valtteri Bottas on Haas’ list.
Fred Vasseur has already been in touch with Komatsu to push for a driver who can ‘teach’ Bearman. Ferrari will view Haas as a proving ground ahead of a potential step up to the top team in the future.
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