Oliver Bearman shares the one thing he finds frustrating about Haas call up for Baku

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Oliver Bearman will compete in his second Formula 1 Grand Prix this weekend as he replaces the suspended Kevin Magnussen at Haas. Magnussen accumulated 12 penalty points within the space of a year, triggering an automatic race ban.

The stewards decided that the Dane had caused a collision with Alpine driver Pierre Gasly during the previous race in Italy. They added 10 seconds onto his race time and served him with two penalty points to take him to the threshold.

Bearman was always the standout option to replace him. He’s already signed a deal to race for the team next season alongside Esteban Ocon.

What’s more, the 19-year-old has driven the VF-24 in three practice sessions this year (Emilia Romagna, Spain and Great Britain). That should enable him to perform better than an emergency stand-in usually would.

On this occasion, Bearman will be able to ramp up through the full weekend. When Ferrari dropped him into the car in Saudi Arabia after Carlos Sainz was hospitalised, he only had one hour-long practice session before qualifying.

Like Jeddah, Baku is one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar. The tight and technical layout in the first two sectors, particularly through the castle section, brings a high risk of accidents.

Oliver Bearman frustrated to miss out on F2 weekend in Azerbaijan

Speaking in the drivers’ press conference on Thursday, Bearman said he was aware that such an opportunity may arise. Magnussen has been on the precipice of a ban since Miami.

He hit double figures for penalty points in that race after taking out Logan Sargeant. One more mishap in the final 18 rounds would open the door for Bearman.

However, the Briton hoped he’d be needed on a different weekend. He’ll miss the F2 action in Baku as a result of his Haas duties.

Bearman already missed the two races in Saudi Arabia after qualifying on pole position. And he’d built some momentum after claiming his second win of the season, and his first double score, in Monza last time out.

“My preparations have been looking towards next year since my announcement [in July],” he said. “It has been a while Kevin has been close to a race ban, so it has been a potential that I might have to jump into the car. And, if there was one weekend that I didn’t want it to happen, it was a clash with Formula 2.”

Why Haas are more impressed with Oliver Bearman than they were with Charles Leclerc

Bearman sits a lowly 14th in the drivers’ championship and he seems determined to improve that ranking before the end of the season. He’s already achieved the primary goal of securing an F1 seat, but wants to do himself justice in the feeder series.

He’ll hope to use Haas as a stepping stone to Ferrari given that he’s part of the Scuderia’s academy. Charles Leclerc spent a year at Sauber, who are also engine customers, before making the step up.

The Monegasque also tested for Haas, only to suspend that programme in 2017 to focus on his F2 campaign. Haas rate Bearman higher than Leclerc because he’s been willing to juggle his responsibilities.

After competing with the likes of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in March, the PREMA ace will now be driving the seventh-fastest car in F1. As such, Guenther Steiner has warned Bearman that he faces a ‘reality check’ in the coming days.