19-year-old Oliver Bearman has signed a multi-year contract with Haas, the American racing team announced on Thursday. Bearman has already participated in several free training sessions with Haas this year and will be in action again this weekend in Silverstone. The young Brit joined Ferrari’s junior program in 2021 and gained worldwide fame for his stand-in performance during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Oliver Bearman is the first rookie for 2025 – the deal with Haas is his first contract in Formula 1. In Saudi Arabia, he was only allowed to stand in for Carlos Sainz, who was suffering from appendicitis at the time. Since then, he has only participated in free training sessions with the Haas team. He will also be called up for a training session during the race weekend in Great Britain. Bearman will become only the seventh official Haas driver – the team was founded in 2016 by American Gene Haas.
A Dream Come True for Oliver Bearman
“I can hardly put into words what this means to me,” the young Brit expresses in a press release. “It makes me incredibly proud to say out loud that I am a Formula 1 driver at Haas. I am one of the few who gets to do what he dreamed of as a child. I want to thank Gene Haas, Ayao Komatsu, and everyone at Haas for their trust.”
A Mature Driver
“It’s wonderful to be able to give a young driver with Oliver Bearman’s talent his first seat in Formula 1,” says team boss Ayao Komatsu. “With Ferrari’s help, he has developed into a mature driver. We all saw that when he was called up last-minute for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He proved then that he is more than ready for this task. We look forward to further developing him as a driver and benefiting from his talent – both in and out of the car.”
Who will join Bearman from 2025 is still unclear. Nico Hülkenberg is leaving for Sauber next year, and it is expected that Haas will not continue with Kevin Magnussen. Esteban Ocon was long one of the favorites for the Americans, but now Valtteri Bottas’ name is also being mentioned.
