Formula 1 will have a fourth Brit on the grid next season after Oliver Bearman agreed to join Haas on a multi-year deal.
The 19-year-old was drafted in by Ferrari to replace Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this year and went on to finish seventh on his debut.
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Speaking for the first time as a new Haas driver, Bearman said: “It’s hard to put into words just how much this means to me.
“To say out loud that I will be an F1 driver for Haas makes me so immensely proud.
“To be one of the very few people who get to do the thing that they dreamed of as a child is something truly incredible.”
Bearman took his maiden F2 win in Austria last weekend and has been attracting interest from a number of teams in the paddock.
But the Chelmsford lad has committed to Haas and will join Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris on the grid next year.
BREAKING: Ollie Bearman will make the step up to F1 in 2025, signing a multi-year deal with @HAASF1TEAM!#F1 #ROADTOF1 @OLLIEBEARMAN PIC.TWITTER.COM/JVGBWU8XVE
— Formula 1 (@F1) JULY 4, 2024
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu added: “It’s an exciting thing to be able to give a young driver as talented as Oliver Bearman his first full-time seat in Formula 1.
“He’s developed into an incredibly mature driver under the guidance of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and the world saw that for themselves when he was called in at the last minute to compete at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“Oliver proved he was more than ready for the task, and we’ve seen that for ourselves, running him in the Haas cars in our first practice sessions over the past two seasons.
“We’re looking forward to further developing him as a driver and reaping the benefits of his talent – both inside and outside of the car.”
