F1 News
Bearman: Haas contract talk is just 'rumours and speculation'
Oliver Bearman is a name which has suddenly become familiar to many in the F1 paddock. The 19-year-old Brit, who subbed in for Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, has been linked with a drive at Haas next year. The Ferrari academy driver will pilot the VF24 in six FP1 sessions this season, and it is thought that Bearman will be driving for the American team in 2025. On media day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Bearman spoke about his possible F1 future.
"My goal is of course as a driver to keep performing well," Bearman said. "I think my FP1 in Imola went really well and I was happy with that so I want to keep doing that. In terms of a time frame, I don't have anything defined." Despite the young Brit's Haas links, he has yet to put pen to paper, even though reports suggest the opposite. "These are all rumours and speculation and stuff. There's not really any backing to them but I try to just stay focused on what I can do by driving the car and in the end I try and stay away from this speculation because it's unhealthy," Bearman said.
Bearman is ready to gain more F1 experience
Bearman is yet to impress in F2 this season. Driving for Prema, the Brit sits 13th in the standings. Despite this, the four-time F2 race winner knows exactly what he has to work on if he wants to get to F1. "Whenever we do a quali sim on soft tyres I don't make the step that easily because it's quite a big step. The track is evolving a lot the, tyre grip is suddenly much higher and the fuel loads are lower, and I tend not to maximize that yet. But I don't need to really overthink that or worry about it it's just something that comes with experience and it will come I'm not worried about that. I've identified it as something that I can work on and improve."
The Brit believes he is in with a high chance of an F1 opportunity despite his F2 results this season. "That's my goal (F1), that's what I'm aiming towards. There's no hiding that. I have a few things personally that I've identified that I want to improve when I'm driving in F1, but that really comes with experience and doing more laps, and I think just me working towards that goal is going to hopefully be enough to get me where I want to be."