Zhou Guanyu’s Camp’s $35 Million Offer That Can Axe Ollie Bearman’s F1 Debut

Guanyu Zhou’s future continues to be up in the air as Sauber has not extended his contract yet. The Chinese driver, whose deal expires at the end of 2024, could be at risk of losing his seat. Since Zhou’s camp is aware of the same, they reportedly have offered Haas $35 million to sign the 25-year-old instead of Ollie Bearman.

According to a Reddit post, Haas’ 2025 line-up will most likely be Zhou and Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman is also looking for a seat elsewhere after Alpine decided to part ways with him at the end of this season.

Haas’ 2025 lineup will be Ollie Bearman and likely Esteban Ocon… however Zhou’s team is offering a lot of money ($30-35m) for the seat.
byu/The_Chozen_1_ informula1

Since many view Ocon as one of the brightest talents on the current grid, his seat is almost confirmed at Haas. As for the second seat, the American team could choose to retain the experienced Kevin Magnussen.

In case they decide to part ways with the Dane, then they could consider signing Bearman or Zhou. The Chinese driver could be a good option because of the money he is likely to bring along with him.

However, if money is not an issue, then Haas could consider signing Bearman after his impressive cameo earlier this season. Bearman stepped in for Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian GP and finished an impressive seventh on his F1 debut.

Ferrari could pressure Haas into signing Ollie Bearman

Since Haas is the customer team of Ferrari, the Italian outfit could pressure the American side into signing Ollie Bearman. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur already confirmed earlier this season that his side and Haas have already planned some FP1 sessions for the 19-year-old this year to provide him with some mileage.

“He will start FP1 sessions with Haas soon, and this will also be important for us to give him experience and mileage in the car. He will do a couple of FP1s with us and Haas during the season“, Vasseur had said.

The Frenchman’s remarks do seem to suggest that Bearman is undoubtedly in Ferrari’s long-term plans. Since Vasseur considers the Briton so talented, Haas may also consider signing him.

Over the past few days, several contrasting reports have emerged about Bearman’s future. Few reports have claimed that the Prema Racing driver has already signed a deal with Haas and will earn $318,000 in his rookie season in 2025.

Meanwhile, Jeppe H. Oleson claimed that reports claiming that Bearman has already penned a deal with Haas are false. Instead, according to him, the negotiations between the two parties are only at an advanced stage. Irrespective of whether Bearman ends up signing for Haas or not, the one thing that seems certain is that the silly season is far from over.