Nico Hulkenberg has made his move in the chaotic driver market for 2025 by announcing his departure from Haas. The German driver will leave the team at the end of this season and reunite with Sauber next year. Hulkenberg has driven for the Swiss team back in 2013. This time, he is joining them for the ambitious Audi project, as the German brand takes over Sauber from 2026 onwards. However, fans are more excited about who will replace the outgoing Hulkenberg at Haas. Many fans on social media have already started rallying Oliver Bearman’s name to take the vacant Haas seat.
Oliver Bearman stole the headlines with his stand-in performance at the Saudi Arabian GP earlier this season. The 18-year-old was called up on short notice to replace an ailing Carlos Sainz, who had to go for appendicitis surgery. However, the sudden turn of events did not phase Bearman.
The British prodigy impressed everyone with a promising drive to score points on debut in Jeddah. Bearman qualified for the race in P11 and moved up to take P7 at the chequered flag, beating the likes of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
While Bearman is still racing in F2 this year, there is already interest among F1 teams for signing the 18-year-old. Being part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Bearman has a good chance to secure a 2025 seat with Haas, who are a close ally team of the Scuderia.
Even Haas boss Ayao Komatsu is a fan of the British driver. After seeing his FP1 appearances for Haas in 2023, Komatsu highlighted that they would love to have Bearman onboard in the future. Now, with Hulkenberg leaving the American team, fans are suggesting them to sign the 18-year-old as soon as possible.
Fans get excited for Oliver Bearman getting the Haas F1 seat
Given Oliver Bearman was already a likely prospect for Haas for 2025, it is a no-brainer that Komatsu and Co. would want to sign the British rookie. On one hand, it would be tough for them to let go of Hulkenberg, who is doing a great job scoring points for them. However, Komatsu would be excited about the prospects of a talent like Bearman.
Many social media fans believe that Haas announcing the Ferrari Academy driver is a just matter of time.
There may not be any big competition for Bearman for the vacant Haas seat, given how the American outfit is not in the best competitive state currently.
So, it becomes a win-win for both parties as even Haas wants a young and fast driver like Bearman, while the Briton gets to kickstart his F1 career at the age of 19 [in 2025].
Bearman still has to complete and do well in his current F2 campaign. As Hulkenberg himself mentioned how the 18-year-old cannot rely on his Jeddah heroics alone to secure an F1 seat.
Nonetheless, if Bearman can do well in the 2024 F2 season, there is little that stands in his way to secure a full-time F1 seat. With Hulkenberg’s departure, it is just a matter of Haas finalizing the deal for the young Briton, unless something drastic happens.
