Oliver Bearman in line for surprise F1 drive with star on brink of getting a suspension
Oliver Bearman could be in line for a surprise return to the F1 grid with an opening potentially on the cards.
Oliver Bearman will be anxiously awaiting a second opportunity to start an F1 Grand Prix after Kevin Magnussen moved within two points of a suspension following a messy weekend in Miami. The teenage Brit has strong connections within the Haas organisation and is an official reserve driver for the team.
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Bearman already demonstrated his talent behind the wheel on debut earlier this year, scoring six points at the highly demanding Jeddah Corniche Circuit after replacing Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who was struck down with appendicitis.
That performance, in which he held off the likes of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, marked him out as a star for the future. The 18-year-old was already lined up for six FP1 appearances with Haas in 2024 with Ayao Komatsu considering Bearman to be a leading contender for a seat with the team in 2025.
Six rounds into the 2024 campaign, Bearman’s future move to Haas now looks like a foregone conclusion. With Nico Hulkenberg committed to joining Sauber ahead of their Audi takeover, the seat alongside Magnussen is free with no other obvious candidates in the pipeline.
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However, Bearman could be racing for Haas sooner than the 2025 season opener in Melbourne after Magnussen moved within two points of a suspension in Miami. The Danish driver picked up an unprecedented six separate time penalties, which brought five penalty points along with them.
That takes his 12-month tally to 10, leaving him one major incident away from a suspension. In the event of a race ban for Magnussen, Komatsu could turn to either of their two reserve drivers or even opt to use one of Ferrari’s official reserve roster, which includes Antonio Giovinazzi and Robert Shwartzman.
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But, with Pietro Fittipaldi racing full-time in IndyCar with Rahal Letterman Lanigan, the Brazilian-American driver is unlikely to be afforded a sequel to his two outings in 2020. Instead, Komatsu would likely call up Bearman, who has already made it clear that he would be happy to skip more Formula Two races for F1 opportunities.
While this would be detrimental to his F2 title hopes following a miserable start to a campaign in which he was tipped to battle at the top, Haas have stated that their decision to sign Bearman in 2025 rests on his FP1 appearances, rather than on his feeder series campaign and with a super license already in his possession, there would be no issues there.
