Haas has confirmed Oliver Bearman will step in for the suspended Kevin Magnussen for the next Formula 1 round in Azerbaijan.
The FIA has suspended Magnussen’s superlicence for the upcoming round after received his 12th penalty point this year at the Italian Grand Prix. Any driver who collects 12 points in less than 12 months receives an automatic one-race ban.
Following a mid-race clash with Pierre Gasly at Monza, Magnussen was handed two penalty points after the stewards deemed him responsible for causing a collision. He becomes the first ever F1 driver to be forced to miss a round due to reaching the 12 penalty point threshold.
As a result, Haas have announced that Bearman will replace Magnussen for the upcoming race weekend in Baku. The Ferrari junior is due to join the team as one of their two race drivers for 2025, alongside incoming team mate Esteban Ocon.
Bearman, who races in Formula 2 with Prema, made his grand prix debut earlier this season. He was called up by Ferrari during the second round in Jeddah when Carlos Sainz Jnr was hospitalised with a sudden bout of appendicitis. Despite just a single hour of practice in the car, Bearman qualified 11th on the grid and scored points by finishing seventh.
The 18-year-old has driven the 2024 Haas VF-24 on several occasions this year. He participated in Friday practice sessions in the car at Imola, Barcelona, Silverstone and the Hungaroring. Bearman also had two Friday practice outings with the team in 2023 and is due to complete more Friday practice runs before the end of this year.
“He’s already shown great promise in his FP1 outings and post-season test, and he performed very well when he drove for Scuderia Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, picking up points in the process,” said Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu. “This is another excellent opportunity for both Ollie and the team to work together, this time throughout an entire race weekend, and he couldn’t ask for better team mate than Nico to provide him with a reference.”
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As a result of his call-up by Haas, Bearman will not compete in the Formula 2 races over the Baku weekend. Prema have not yet confirmed who will fill Bearman’s empty seat alongside team mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will also graduate to F1 next year.
Bearman sits 14th in the F2 championship standings with three rounds remaining with two race victories this season. He won the sprint race at Monza, the most recent round of the championship.
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