Oliver Bearman says that speculation that a deal is already in place for him to join Haas in 2025 is “unhealthy”. Bearman was linked with a seat at the US-owned team even before Nico Hulkenberg’s departure for Sauber created a definite opening.
The British teenager did two FP1 sessions for the team last year. Having made his race debut with Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, he is continuing with an already planned FP1 programme with Haas. His next outing is in Barcelona this weekend.
Bearman pays no attention to rumours
However, despite strong suggestions in the paddock, he insists nothing is decided.
“These are all rumours and speculation and stuff. There’s not really any backing to them,” he said when asked about 2025.
“I try to just stay focused on what I can do on driving the car. And in the end, I try and stay away from this speculation – because it’s unhealthy.”
Bearman downplayed the widespread assumption in the paddock that he will eventually get the Haas seat.
“I don’t know if the assumption is wrong or right,” he said. “I mean, of course, that’s my goal. 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.”
Bearman focused on performance
Asked if he has any timeline for a decision he said: “Personally, no. My goal is, of course, as a driver to keep performing well. 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 the timeframe, I don’t have anything defined.”
Bearman conceded that Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur is keeping a close eye on his progress and that he’s also in contact with Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu.
“So, of course, with Fred, first of all, he keeps an eye in the background, probably without me knowing,” he said. “I like to stay updated with him and in the loop, because it’s nice to know where you stand almost.
“Also, with Ayao, I didn’t have time to catch up with him during Imola. I knew him last year as being the second in command, let’s say, but now he’s moved to team principal.
“It’s a much more demanding job. So he didn’t have time to sit down with me during the race weekend.
“But I caught up with him a bit in Maranello as well, and it’s nice to kind of be on the same page. And also having driven the Ferrari quite a lot now, I have a few points where I can find differences between the Ferrari and the Haas, and see if I can help in that way as well.”
AUTODROMO INTERNAZIONALE ENZO E DINO FERRARI, ITALY – MAY 16: Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team during the Emilia Romagna GP at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on Thursday May 16, 2024 in imola, Italy. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)
Bearman also downplayed the importance of his FP1 programme in securing the drive.
“These practice sessions are also practice for me for the future,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to do a lot more FP1s if you catch my drift!
“So yeah, I don’t feel like I need to prove myself. But that’s really been the case since the beginning, since Mexico last year, my FP1.
“It was made clear to me that I didn’t need to prove myself, that if I just drove within what I’m capable of, that’s already proving. So yeah, I don’t feel like I’m overpushing or overdoing it. I’m just enjoying the session and using it to build up my knowledge base, basically.”
Bearman admitted that he still has much to learn ahead of a possible graduation.
“I tend to get up to speed pretty well,” he said. “That’s one of my strengths. In Jeddah, that was the case, and even in Imola, I seem to be on the pace pretty quickly.
“But 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 maximise that yet.
“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. It’s just I’ve identified it as something that I can work on and improve.”
