Oliver Bearman will start in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with Haas. The official confirmation came today, but the presence of the Ferrari Driver Academy driver in the Baku weekend was already expected. Oliver Bearman will replace Kevin Magnussen due to the suspension triggered for the Danish driver after his collision with Pierre Gasly during the Italian Grand Prix. The infraction brought Magnussen to the fateful twelve penalty points on his license, leading to an automatic exclusion for one race.
Haas contacted Ferrari on Sunday evening to request Oliver Bearman’s availability, a natural choice since next season ‘Ollie’ will be competing in the world championship with the U.S. team. Furthermore, Bearman has already driven the 2024 car, having completed four FP1 sessions behind the wheel of the VF-24.
For the 19-year-old Briton, Baku will be the second opportunity of the season to participate in a Formula 1 Grand Prix after replacing Carlos Sainz in the Jeddah weekend following an unexpected appendicitis attack that worsened on Friday evening. Unlike in Jeddah, where he was suddenly called up at dawn on Saturday, this time Bearman will be able to prepare for the weekend in the simulator and, above all, take part in all the free practice sessions. Last year, in Baku, Oiiver Bearman had his best Formula 2 weekend so far, winning (as a rookie) both races on the schedule.
Kevin Magnussen will miss the Azerbaijani round and is the first driver ever to receive a race weekend ban since the introduction of the 12 penalty points rule in Formula 1. In fact, the Haas driver reached the limit set by the regulations in much less than a calendar year. The first points (3) came at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (collision with Sargeant), then in China (incident with Tsunoda). But it was mainly the Miami weekend that complicated things for Kevin, as he received three more points for a collision with Hamilton and another two for contact again with Sargeant. The incident with Gasly last Sunday in Monza brought him to twelve points and the resulting race ban.
“It’s definitely a more challenging task to come into a race as a reserve driver, with limited preparation time and so on, but I’m fortunate to have done it earlier in the year with Ferrari, so I can at least draw on that experience,” Oliver Bearman said regarding this new opportunity with Haas.
“I’ve also done four FP1 sessions with Haas and the VF-24 this season, so no doubt that will also prove valuable in tackling the entire race weekend in Baku. The team is in good shape at the moment, and I’ll do my best to be prepared with the time available. The goal is to get out on track and have a solid weekend in Azerbaijan,” added the Briton.
Team Principal Ayao Komatsu also expressed confidence, stemming from the work done with the team in various FP1 sessions: “I’m excited that Ollie will drive the VF-24 alongside Nico in Baku. He’s already shown great promise in his FP1 outings and post-season tests, and he performed very well when he drove for Scuderia Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, earning points. This is another excellent opportunity for Ollie and the team to work together, this time for an entire weekend, and he couldn’t ask for a better teammate than Nico to provide a reference.” – he concluded.
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