Haas’ Oliver Bearman is “excited” to sample a proper full F1 race weekend in Baku at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Bearman has replaced Kevin Magnussen who is suspended for the trip to Baku due to collecting 12 penalty points, with the 19 year-old getting his first taste of a full F1 race weekend before his full-time move next season.
The Brit has already conducted FP1 sessions for Haas and replaced Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, albeit only for FP3, Qualifying and Race rather than a full F1 race weekend.
“I’m excited about getting back inside a Formula 1 car and competing in my first full weekend,” commented Bearman who is hopeful that he can “build on” his FP1 running in Baku across a full weekend.
Bearman is familiar with Baku after he dominated the whole weekend on his only previous visit, which came in F2 last season as the Brit topped Practice and Qualifying before he won both the Sprint and Feature Races.
“Last year I had a lot of success in Baku and it’s really one of my favourite tracks to compete at,” although Bearman did add that the circuit is “challenging” with “very close” walls and tight corners.
Magnussen’s race engineer, Mark Slade is disappointed that he won’t be working with Magnussen – who returns in Singapore from 20-22 September – but is relishing the chance to work with Bearman ahead of next season.
“He has shown his pace and talent by winning both Formula 2 races on this track last year, so our task is to use our experience and knowledge to help him apply that ability and get the most out of himself and the car. It should be a fascinating race weekend.”