(Paris) 19-year-old English driver Oliver Bearman will drive for Haas from 2025, the American Formula 1 team announced on Thursday.
Bearman, a member of the Ferrari young driver academy and currently in Formula 2, has signed a multi-year contract with Haas.
Also a reserve driver for Ferrari this season, he made his premier class debut in March in Saudi Arabia, replacing Carlos Sainz who had appendicitis surgery and finishing seventh. He became the third youngest driver to take part in a Grand Prix at 18 years, 10 months and 1 day, behind Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll.
“It’s hard to put into words what this means to me,” Bearman said in a Haas statement. “To say out loud that I will be a Formula 1 driver for […] Haas makes me immensely proud.”
“To be one of the few people who can achieve their childhood dream is something truly incredible,” added the native of Chelmsford, north-east London.
Ahead of his start next year, Bearman will take part in the first free practice session for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Friday with Haas.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu sees him as an “incredibly mature” driver for his age, as shown by his impromptu interim in Saudi Arabia.
Bearman replaces experienced German driver Nico Hulkenberg, 36, who will leave Haas at the end of the season to join the Sauber team – which will become Audi in 2026 –. In the other Haas seat this year, Dane Kevin Magnussen is out of contract and his future is uncertain.