Oliver Bearman will race in Formula 1 for the second time in 2024, after being signed by Haas for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Briton, who spent most of 2024 racing for Prema in Formula 2, will move to F1 with Haas in 2025.
But Bearman will get an early debut with his future employers. He will replace Kevin Magnussen at the Baku team after the Dane was banned for one race following contact with Pierre Gasly at last Sunday's Italian GP.
“It’s definitely more challenging to go into the race as a reserve driver, with limited preparation time and so on,” Bearman said in a Haas press release. “But I’m in the fortunate position of having done it earlier in the year with Scuderia Ferrari, so I can at least draw on that experience.
“I've also had four FP1 sessions with MoneyGram Haas F1 Team in the VF-24 already this season, so no doubt that will prove invaluable as we get through the full 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 we have. The goal is to get out there and have a solid weekend in Azerbaijan.”
Bearman will have at least some knowledge of the Baku City circuit, having driven there in his rookie F2 season. It was in Azerbaijan that the Briton produced one of the finest individual performances in the championship’s history. He took pole position with a broken steering arm before keeping his cool to win both the Feature and Sprint races.
This is not Bearman's first rodeo
Photo: LAT Images
It is not the first time in 2024 that Bearman has had to give up his F2 commitments to parachute into an F1 racing seat.
During free practice for the Saudi Arabian GP in Jeddah in early March, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was battling illness and it looked increasingly unlikely that the Spaniard would be able to race.
In fact, on the day of qualifying, the Spaniard was taken to hospital with appendicitis, forcing Ferrari to look for a replacement just a few hours before the final free practice session.
With Ferrari's other reserve drivers, Robert Shwartzman and Antonio Giovinazzi, unavailable, the team called upon Bearman, who became the first Briton to race for Ferrari since Eddie Irvine in 1999.
After a practice session to get to know the car, the Briton was thrown straight into his first qualifying session, behaving in a friendly manner and qualifying 11th for Saturday's race.
In the race he stood out, facing with ease all the driving difficulties of an F1 race, without losing his calm and finishing in a splendid seventh place, ahead of future Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
His super-heroic exploits in Jeddah secured him second place at Haas, and his subsequent appearances in test sessions at Imola, Silverstone and Hungaroring further demonstrated his excellent speed behind the wheel of an F1 car.
How did Kevin Magnussen get a race ban?
Photo: LAT Images
Magnussen's contact with Gasly at Monza, while he was racing for tenth place, earned him the final two points on his FIA superlicence, ensuring his disqualification from the race.
The Dane becomes the first driver to be banned from racing since future Haas teammate Romain Grosjean was benched for the 2012 Italian GP after causing a multi-car pile-up at the Belgian GP.
Magnussen's run of run-ins with stewards began at the Saudi Arabian GP, when he was handed three penalty points for making contact with Alex Albon. Two more points came in China after the Dane spun Yuki Tsunoda and retired.
But in Miami, Magnussen received penalty points for two separate incidents. He was given three points for running off the track multiple times in the Sprint and received two more for a collision with Logan Sargeant, bringing his score to 10.