07/09/2024
NEWS STORY
Haas has confirmed that Oliver Bearman will replace Kevin Magnussen in next weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Dane has been hit with a one race ban after accruing 12 penalty points in as many months, consequently Bearman will take over the VF-24 alongside Nico Hulkenberg for the Azerbaijan event.
Bearman, who will partner Esteban Ocon at the American team next year, famously deputised for Carlos Sainz in Jeddah, finishing 7th on his F1 debut.
"It's definitely more of a challenge stepping in to race as a reserve driver, with limited prep-time and so on," said the youngster, "but I'm in the fortunate position of having done it earlier in the year with Ferrari, so I can at least call on that experience.
"I've also had four FP1 sessions with Haas in the VF-24 already this season, so undoubtedly that will also prove to be valuable in tackling the full race weekend in Baku.
"The team is in good form at the moment and I'll do my best to be prepared with the time we have available. The aim is to get out there and have a solid weekend in Azerbaijan."
"I'm excited that Ollie will be driving the VF-24 alongside Nico in Baku," added Ayao Komatsu. "He's already shown great promise in his FP1 outings and post-season test, and he performed very well when he drove for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, picking up points in the process.
"This is another excellent opportunity for both Ollie and the team to work together, this time throughout an entire race weekend, and he couldn't ask for better teammate than Nico to provide him with a reference."