Now it’s confirmed: Oliver Bearman will replace Magnussen during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which will take place next weekend.
As previously anticipated, Kevin Magnussen will not participate in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix following the suspension he received at the end of the Italian Grand Prix last weekend. Replacing him for the event in Baku will be the English driver Oliver Bearman, who is set to be a Haas race driver alongside Esteban Ocon for 2025.
For Bearman, who competes in the junior category of Formula 2, this isn’t his first time in Formula 1 this season; in fact, the Brit had already replaced Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in Jeddah when the Spaniard was absent due to an appendectomy. Now, he will once again experience a Formula 1 Grand Prix with the American team alongside Nico Hulkenberg.
“It’s definitely more of a challenge stepping in to race as a reserve driver, with limited prep-time and so on, but I’m in the fortunate position of having done it earlier in the year with Scuderia Ferrari, so I can at least call on that experience. I’ve also had four FP1 sessions with MoneyGram Haas F1 Team in the VF-24 already this season, so undoubtedly that will also prove to be valuable in tackling the full race weekend in Baku. The team is in good form at the moment and I’ll do my best to be prepared with the time we have available. The aim is to get out there and have a solid weekend in Azerbaijan” – said Oliver Bearman.
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal del MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, added: “I’m excited that Ollie will be driving the VF-24 alongside Nico in Baku. 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. 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 teammate than Nico to provide him with a reference.“
Photo: Haas F1 Team
