Oliver Bearman: Haas signs British teenager to multi-year deal starting in 2025 Formula 1 season | F1 News

British teenager Oliver Bearman will be a permanent fixture on the Formula 1 grid in 2025 after signing a multi-year deal with Haas.

The 19-year-old Ferrari Academy driver made an impressive F1 debut for the Italian team when he replaced Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in March.

Bearman's signing with Haas had seemed likely since the team announced at the start of the season that he would take part in six test sessions for them during the 2024 campaign, the third of which will take place at this weekend's British Grand Prix.

“It’s hard to put into words what this means to me,” Bearman said. “To say out loud that I’ll be a Formula 1 driver for Haas makes me extremely proud.

“To be one of the few people who can do what they dreamed of as a child is something truly incredible.”

Bearman was recruited by the Ferrari Driver Academy in November 2021, following current Scuderia driver Charles Leclerc, who enjoyed practice runs for Haas thanks to the two teams' long-standing relationship.

In addition to being a reserve driver for Ferrari during the 2024 F1 season, Bearman is competing in his second Formula 2 campaign.

He claimed his first win of the season at the Sprint event in Austria last weekend, adding to the four victories he took for Prema Racing last year.

Before reaching the F2 grid in 2023, Bearman won the 2021 Italian F4 Championship and the 2021 ADAC F4 Championship, and competed in the Formula 3 championship in 2022.

“It’s an exciting experience to be able to give a talented young driver like Oliver Bearman his first full-time drive in Formula 1,” said Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu. “He has developed into an incredibly mature driver under the guidance of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and the world saw this with their own eyes when he was called up at the last minute to compete in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.”

“Oliver has proven himself more than up for the task, and we’ve seen that by running him in the Haas cars during our practice sessions over the last two seasons. We look forward to developing him further as a driver and reaping the rewards of his talent, both inside and out of the car.”

“Oliver is a great guy and a very welcome addition to the team when he joins us for the FP1 weekends. We now know that this relationship is going to last longer, which is a positive thing for all parties involved.”

Bearman's team-mate for the 2025 season has yet to be confirmed, with incumbent Kevin Magnussen battling to remain at Haas, while Nico Hulkenberg has already agreed a deal to drive for Sauber in 2025, before the team switches to Audi the following season.

Outgoing Alpine driver Esteban Ocon is among those linked with Haas, while Sauber's Valtteri Bottas is also in the hunt for a drive in 2025.

The confirmation of Bearman's signing leaves just six unconfirmed seats on the 2025 grid, with Mercedes, RB, Alpine, Williams, Sauber and Haas each having one seat to fill.

“The weekend in Jeddah was one of the most important of my life”

While Bearman was already seen as a promising prospect by many in F1, his reputation skyrocketed at the Saudi Grand Prix in March, when Sainz's illness forced Ferrari to find a last-minute replacement.

Bearman's accomplished performance, which saw him rise from 11th on the grid to seventh, marked him out as a future star and drew praise from all his fellow drivers, including seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

At the time, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur insisted there was no pressure on Bearman, but the Briton now admits he knew how crucial the opportunity was to fast-tracking his path to the F1 grid.

“It was one of the most important weekends of my life so far,” Bearman said. Sky Sports News“It really accelerated my chances of getting to Formula 1. And I'm happy that it went well because those two hours of racing in Jeddah were two of the most important I've ever done.

“There was a lot of stress, a lot of pressure, a lot of high expectations of myself. But it was a pivotal weekend and a whirlwind experience.

“I knew the eyes were on me. There was no way to escape it. That’s where most of the pressure came from, because I knew that with a good performance I could really put myself in a position to secure a spot for 2025. With a bad one I could do the opposite.”

“It was a huge pressure and of course everyone was trying to tell me I had nothing to prove, but I knew in the background everyone was watching, because that’s the fairest assessment of a driver – it’s an F1 race. So it was tough to manage everything. I’m really happy it went well, well enough for me to get a place.”

Sky Sports F1 British GP Live Schedule (All F1 Sessions on Sky Showcase)

Thursday July 4th
1:30 p.m.: Drivers' press conference
6:00 p.m.: The F1 show

Friday July 5th
8:35 a.m.: F3 tests
9:55 a.m.: F2 tests
12:00 p.m.: First test of the British GP (session starts at 12:30 p.m.)
2:05 p.m.: F3 Qualifying
3:00 p.m.: F2 Qualifying
3:45 p.m.: British GP Practice 2 (session starts at 4pm)

Saturday July 6th
9:15 a.m.: F3 Sprint
11:15 a.m.: British GP Practice 3 (session starts at 11:30)
1:10 p.m.: F2 Sprint
2:15 p.m.: Preparation for the British GP qualifying
3:00 p.m.: British GP Qualifying
5:00 p.m.: Ted's Qualifications Book

Sunday July 7th
8:15 a.m.: F3 main race
9:50 a.m.: F2 main race
11:50 a.m.: Porsche Supercup
1:30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday – Preparation for the British GP
3:00 p.m.: THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX
5:00 p.m.: Checkered flag: reaction to the British GP
6:00 p.m.: Ted's Notebook

F1's summer triple-header concludes with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase, with Sunday's race at 3pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports monthly subscription – no contract, cancel anytime