F1 | Haas: Bearman to replace suspended Magnussen in Baku

Oliver Bearman will be at the start of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with Haas. The official confirmation came today, but the presence of the Ferrari Driver Academy driver in the Baku weekend was taken for granted. Bearman will replace Kevin Magnussen, due to the suspension issued to the Danish driver after the contact with Pierre Gasly during the Italian Grand Prix. The infringement caused Magnussen to reach the fateful quota of twelve penalty points on his license, and hence the automatic exclusion for one race.

Haas already contacted Ferrari on Sunday evening to ask about Bearman’s availability, a natural choice given that ‘Ollie’ will be competing in the world championship next season with the American team. In addition, Bearman has already driven the 2024 single-seater, having already completed four FP1 sessions at the wheel of the VF-24.

For the 19-year-old British driver, Baku will be his second opportunity of the season to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix after replacing Carlos Sainz over the Jeddah weekend following a sudden attack of appendicitis that worsened on Friday evening. Unlike Jeddah, where he was unexpectedly called up at dawn on Saturday, this time Bearman will be able to prepare for the weekend in the simulator and, above all, take part in all the free practice sessions. Last year, in Baku, Bearman achieved what remains his best weekend so far in Formula 2, winning (as a rookie) both races on the programme.

Magnussen will miss the Azerbaijan trip, and is the first driver ever to receive a disqualification for a race weekend since the 12 penalty points in 12 months rule was introduced in Formula 1. In reality, the Haas driver reached the limit set by the regulation in a much shorter period of time than the calendar year. The first points (3) arrived in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (incident with Sargeant) then in China (incident with Tsunoda). But it was above all the Miami weekend that complicated things for Kevin, given that in that weekend he picked up another three points for a collision with Hamilton and another two for another contact with Sargeant. The incident with Gasly last Sunday in Monza brought him to twelve points and the consequent race-ban.

“It’s definitely a bigger challenge to come in as a reserve driver, with limited preparation time and so on, but I’m fortunate to have done that earlier in the year with Ferrari, so I can at least draw on that experience,” Bearman said of this new opportunity with Haas.

“I’ve also done four FP1 sessions with Haas and VF-24 this season, so no doubt that will also prove invaluable as we head into 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 available. The aim is to get out there and have a solid weekend in Azerbaijan,” added the Briton.

Team Principal Ayao Komatsu also expressed confidence, also born from the work done with the team in the various FP1s: “I am thrilled that Ollie will be driving the VF-24 alongside Nico in Baku. He has already shown great promise in his FP1 outings and post-season testing, and performed very well when driving for Scuderia Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, scoring points. This is another excellent opportunity for Ollie and the team to work together, this time for a full weekend, and he couldn’t ask for a better teammate than Nico to provide him with a reference point.”