Teenage British driver Ollie Bearman has signed for the Haas Formula One team for 2025 and beyond.
Bearman made his F1 debut earlier this season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, standing in for the ill Carlos Sainz at Ferrari.
Despite being called up at late notice, the 19-year-old performed brilliantly and became the third youngest driver in the sport’s history behind only Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll.
Following this, it was heavily rumoured that the Ferrari junior would move to Haas who have close ties to the Scuderia, with the news officially confirmed on Thursday ahead of the British Grand Prix this weekend.
‘It’s hard to put into words just how much this means to me,’ Bearman said upon the annoucement.
‘To say out loud that I will be a Formula 1 driver for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team makes me so immensely proud. To be one of the very few people who get to do the thing what they dreamed of as a child is something truly incredible.
To Gene [Haas, team owner], Ayao [Komatsu, team principal] and everyone at Haas, thank you for believing in me and for trusting me to represent your team. I’ve really enjoyed working with everyone since the first time we met in Mexico and I can’t wait to enjoy this moment with them and hopefully many more in the future.
‘To everyone at the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy, quite simply, I wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you for preparing me since Formula 4 for this incredible opportunity and know I will give it everything I have.’
It is not known how long Bearman’s ‘multi-year’ deal will last, though it has been speculated that Ferrari are preparing him to replace Lewis Hamilton one day should he perform as expected.
The news means that there will be four British drivers on the F1 grid next year, with Bearman racing alongside Mercedes duo Hamilton and George Russell as well as McLaren’s Lando Norris.
It is not yet known who his Haas teammate will be, with current drivers Nico Hulkenberg set to depart for Sauber next season, while Kevin Magnussen is out of contract.
Various other drivers have been linked including Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
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