Ferrari is quite keen to give Oliver Bearman his full-time F1 drive after the young Briton’s solid debut in Saudi Arabia. However, for now, Haas seems to be the only team Ferrari can place him on for 2025. Even Haas likes Bearman and wants to have the 18-year-old F2 sensation in their car. However, according to F1 expert Joe Saward, the American team may look to get some ‘considerable discount‘ on the engines Ferrari supplies them in exchange for a seat for Bearman.
Saward wrote in his blog – Green Notebook, “The word is that Haas would be happy to take Bearman, probably alongside Hulkenberg, in 2025, if Ferrari asked them nicely – and offered a suitable discount on engines.”
Even since Haas joined F1 in 2016, they have been a customer team of the Prancing Horse. Despite Ferrari hitting troubles with their power units in 2019-20, the American team yet maintained a close relationship with them. So much so that many refer to Haas as a de-facto sister team for the Italian outfit.
The engines in F1 are the costliest part of a car. The cost of an F1 power unit can range between $12-15 million. While the cost of engines is not covered in the budget caps, for a team like Haas, which always runs on a small tight budget, saving every penny is crucial.
So, they may look to make some financial adjustments in their engine deal with Ferrari, given the latter’s need to not lose Bearman. Naturally, if Haas can save money on their engine supply deal, they have a chance to invest more in their infrastructure. Teams like them, Williams, and Sauber have an additional allocation of capital expenditure ($65M instead of $45M over four years) till 2026.
What does Oliver Bearman need to do for a 2025 seat?
As sudden as his F1 debut came, Oliver Bearman’s stocks in the paddock also rose drastically overnight. While many rated the Briton highly previously as well, his performance in Jeddah made him a solid contender for a full-time F1 seat in 2025.
Still, it does not guarantee him a seat in F1 for next year just yet. Bearman will most likely be the reserve driver for Ferrari over their experienced prodigy Robert Schwartzman for the rest of the season. Since Schwartzman is driving for Ferrari’s WEC Hypercar program as well, it would be easier for Bearman to jump in the Scarlet car, as he is driving in F2 currently.
This was Frederic Vasseur’s logical explanation for choosing Bearman over Schwartzman in Jeddah after Carlos Sainz had to withdraw. Vasseur also has assured two FP1 sessions at minimum for the Prema Racing driver later this year.
These sessions may happen with either Haas or Ferrari themselves and could even increase to more than two if there is a chance for a 2025 seat for Bearman. However, Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg stated that Bearman needs to do well in F2 as well.
Hulkenberg’s logic came from the old adage that ‘you are as good as your last race’. Given the 18-year-old is competing full-time in F2 this season, he has to prove himself over there by winning races and maybe even the title. Else, Hulkenberg believes his Jeddah performance “will be forgotten in two days”.
