Haas has announced that its reserve driver Oliver Bearman will race for the squad in Formula 1 next year.
The Ferrari Academy youngster had long been tipped for the seat in the wake of his impressive F1 debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where he finished seventh for the Prancing Horse after a late call-up to replace Carlos Sainz.
Oliver Bearman: The rise of Britain’s next Formula 1 star
Speaking about his deal, Bearman described it as "incredible" to think that he was now a fully-fledged F1 driver.
“It’s hard to put into words just how much this means to me,” he said. “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], Ayao [Komatsu] and everyone at Haas, thank you for believing in me and for trusting me to represent your team.”
Having conducted several practice outings for Haas both last year and this, as well as winning in Formula 2, the American-owned outfit has no doubt that the Briton has what it takes to be successful.
Team principal Ayao Komatsu said: “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 FP1 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.
“Oliver’s a great guy and a very welcome addition to the team when he joins us for the FP1 weekends. Now we know that relationship is going to be longer-term, it’s a positive thing for all concerned.”
As well as running in free practice for Haas at Silverstone this weekend, Bearman will also get FP1 outings in Hungary, Mexico and Abu Dhabi.
Bearman has been a member of Ferrari’s young driver programme since the end of 2021, having won that year’s Italian F4 championship.
In 2022, he finished third overall in the F3 championship for Prema, prior to stepping up to F2 last year.
He took four wins en route to sixth in the championship, while this year, off the back of a sprint race win in Austria last weekend with the underperforming Prema team, he is 14th currently.
While Haas has announced Bearman, it has not yet decided on who will be his team-mate for 2025.
It has been strongly linked with Esteban Ocon, who is leaving Alpine at the end of this season, but the Frenchman is also a candidate for Williams.
Valtteri Bottas could also be a possibility, while current driver Kevin Magnussen hopes that improved results from him can convince Haas to give him another contract.
