Ollie Bearman admits he wants to stay focused on his performances this year, avoiding speculation around the possibility of a Haas F1 seat for 2025.
Ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, Ollie Bearman addressed the rumours that he had already signed an F1 contract with Haas. He admitted, “There’s not really any backing to them,” going on to say, “I try and stay away from this speculation because it’s just unhealthy at the end.”
Bearman will take part in FP1 in place of Nico Hulkenberg for the Barcelona Grand Prix. This is the second FP session this year for the 19-year-old brit, with him due to participate in 4 more this season.
When talking about his first FP session of 2024 in Imola, He said. “I think my FP1 in Imola went really well and I was happy with that.” The Brit also emphasised he wanted to continue this level of performance in sessions.
Bearman is the reserve driver for both Ferrari and Haas. For Ferrari he saw this directly come into play when he took Carlos Sainz’ place in Jeddah. Scoring points on his debut.
He talked about the role he plays, saying,“I have a few points where I can find the differences between the Ferrari and the Haas and see if I can help in that way.” He confessed it helps as he’s driven the Ferrari ‘quite a lot now’.
The Team Principals Are Observing Bearman
The team principals of Ferrari and Haas have taken an active interest in Ollie Bearman and his progress. Vasseur notably greeted Bearman as he climbed out of his car in Baku after completing the first clean sweep in F2 history.
Bearman mused that Vasseur, “likes to follow [his] progress closely,” even saying “he keeps an eye in the background. Probably without me knowing.”
Haas will also be keeping their eye on the Brit due to the fact that Kevin Magnussen currently sits on 10 penalty points. Two more will see the Danish driver recieve a race ban.
Speaking about the situation, Bearman admitted it was not something he had discussed with Haas. However, in the case it does happen he hoped he will “be the one they call.”
It seemed Haas shared this feeling as Ayo Komatsu, made it clear that the Brit was in contention for the 2025.
Bearman has also been trusted consistently by both Ferrari and Haas. In his debut in Jeddah, Vasseur stressed the importance of the 18-year-old having fun and not putting pressure on himself.
The British driver echoed these sentiments,“Since Mexico last year. It was made clear to me that I don’t need to prove myself. If I just drive within what I’m capable of, that’s already proving.”
The Brit acknowledged that he finds it easy to get up to speed in these free practice sessions.
However, he cited his biggest downfall currently as qualifying runs. He admitted that when doing soft tyre runs, he “doesn’t make the step as easily because it’s quite a big step.”
Moreover, Ollie Bearman also discussed how he found the driving of an F1 car more natural than an F2 car. Claiming, “In F1 you can really throw the car around and trust it. In F2 it’s a bit less the case.”
Bearman’s Future
It has become a common assumption that one of the 2025 Haas seats will be filled by Ollie Bearman. When speaking about these rumours, Bearman admitted, “I don’t know if the assumption is wrong or right. Of course that’s my goal. That’s what I’m aiming towards.”
Equally, Bearman joked, “Hopefully I’ll get the chance to do a lot more FP1s, if you catch my drift.”
Silverstone will see an increase in fans for Bearman. With a lot more ‘fan experiences’ and things happening ‘behind the scenes’. He divuldged that he is“so excited for [his] home race.”
He was asked by press if he would like any possible contract announcement to come at silverstone, to which he responded, “Of Course, but that’s not in my hands.”
The F2 Driver’s attention now goes to FP1 session and the F2 triple header with both performances just as important as eachother in his fight for an F1 seat.
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