BRITISH wonderkid Oliver Bearman looks set to earn a seat with Haas for the 2025 Formula 1 season, according to reports.
The 18-year-old impressed on his F1 debut in Saudi Arabia last month as he finished a highly respectable seventh after being handed an opportunity with Ferrari when Carlos Sainz was ruled out with appendicitis.
That caught the attention of the paddock as the teenager put himself in the frame to be considered for a permanent seat next year.
And according to The Times he is now the frontrunner to replace Nico Hulkenberg, 36, at Haas after it was confirmed the fan-favourite will be leaving at the end of the 2024 campaign.
It comes after SunSport exclusively tipped Bearman to join the team back in March.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu, who was alerted to Bearman‘s quality by his performance in Saudi, will give the Chelmsford-born star six practice sessions in their car this season.
He is also the favourite to succeed Hulkenberg – who has signed a multi-year deal with Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber.
Stake will become Audi in 2026.
An announcement about Bearman to Haas is not expected in the near-future.
Bearman has been tipped as a future star after winning the F4 series in both Italy and Germany in 2021.
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After climbing up to F3, the teen sensation finished third and was then promoted to F2 last year with Prema Racing.
He has driven four of the six F2 races so far this season, achieving a best finish of ninth place.
Meanwhile, there are a number of other driver moves being mooted for 2025.
Red Bull are keeping tabs on Sainz as he prepares to lose his seat at Ferrari to Lewis Hamilton, although the constructors champions would rather keep hold of Sergio Perez providing he maintains his level.
Hulkenberg will replace either Valtteri Bottas or Zhou Guanyu at Stake, meaning one of them need to find a seat for next season.
Mercedes are also understood to be keen on bringing in world champion Max Verstappen by 2026.
