F1 team turned down Oliver Bearman for 2024 season because of car issues

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One F1 team rejected Oliver Bearman for their 2024 driver line-up, Auto Motor und Sport journalist Michael Schmidt has revealed.

Bearman starred on his emergency F1 debut at Ferrari last weekend as he finished seventh and won the driver of the day award.

But he could have been racing full-time this year if the Scuderia had had their way.

Having finished third in the Formula 3 championship in 2022, Bearman stepped up to F2 for last year.

He took three poles, four wins and six podiums to finish sixth in the championship, and Ferrari believed he was ready to race at the highest level.

In the end, he has ended up remaining with Prema for another year, in addition to his F1 reserve capacities.

Bearman will be back on F2 duty in Australia next weekend if doctors pass Carlos Sainz fit to race.

Haas refused to take Oliver Bearman for 2024

Speaking on the AMuS podcast, Schmidt revealed that Ferrari wanted Haas to take on Bearman for the current campaign.

The Briton had driven in two free practice sessions for the team at the back end of last year, as well as the post-season test in Abu Dhabi.

However, Haas, who finished last in the 2023 championship with just 12 points, felt it wasn’t the right time to be taking a rookie.

Schmidt said: “Ferrari originally wanted to put Ollie Bearman already this year at Haas.

“But since Haas had car issues last year, they wanted to fix the issues first before taking a rookie.

“Bearman is definitely the top candidate for Haas’s seat next year.”

Will Bearman race for Haas next year?

Haas have shown signs of improvement at the first couple of races, with Nico Hulkenberg getting their first point on the board in Saudi Arabia.

If 2024 proves to be a stronger campaign, then perhaps they will feel more comfortable welcoming an inexperienced driver to the fold.

Significantly, both Kevin Magnussen and Hulkenberg are out of contract at the end of the season.

Bearman will also have the opportunity to impress the team with six further FP1 outings over the course of the year.

But the American outfit could face competition for his signature, with Alpine, Williams and Sauber all floated as possible destinations too.