Haas has confirmed that British teenager Oliver Bearman will drive for the team in place of Kevin Magnussen, who is suspended from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Magnussen was handed a one-race suspension after picking up his 12th penalty point in 12 months at the Italian Grand Prix, adjudged to have collided with Alpine's Pierre Gasly.
The 19-year-old Behrman is already under contract with Haas for next season and was a natural choice to step up as one of the team's reserve drivers this season.
The race in Baku will be Bearman's second time in F1, having impressed in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix earlier this year, deputising for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz on short notice to finish seventh.
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Take a look at the best moments from Ferrari's reserve driver Oliver Bearman's debut race weekend, where he stole the spotlight with a superb seventh place finish.
“It's definitely a bigger challenge to be a reserve driver when you have limited preparation time and all that,” Behrman said after Haas confirmed the decision on Friday, “but fortunately I've raced with Ferrari earlier this year so at least I can use that experience.
“I’ve already done four FP1 sessions with Haas in the VF-24 this season, so it will undoubtedly be worth it to tackle the full race weekend in Baku. The team is in good shape at the moment and I’ll be taking as much time as possible to prepare as best as I can. The goal is to go out and have a solid weekend in Azerbaijan.”
Behrman has already taken part in four practice sessions for Haas this season in preparation for his rookie F1 race, two more than last year.
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Oliver Bearman took his first win of the year by winning the F2 Sprint around the Red Bull Ring.
The Ferrari Academy driver is in his second season in Formula 2 and won the penultimate race of the season at Monza.
Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu said: “We are delighted to have Olli driving the VF-24 alongside Nico in Baku. He has already shown great promise in FP1 and post-season testing, and performed very well for Scuderia Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, scoring points along the way.
“This is another great opportunity for Ollie and the team to work together, this time across a full race weekend, and I couldn’t ask for a better teammate to give him a nod of recommendation than Nico.”
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British teenager Oliver Bearman has signed a multi-year contract with Haas that will see him join the Formula 1 grid permanently in 2025.
Why was Magnussen banned?
Magnussen becomes the first driver to breach the 12-point limit since it was introduced in 2014.
Romain Grosjean was the last driver to receive a racing ban after his multi-pileup crash at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix.
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Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has said Kevin Magnussen must accept his suspension for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Oliver Bearmann is due to replace him.
The race referee ruled that Magnussen was “entirely responsible” for causing contact with Gasly at Monza's second chicane, saying the Dane “did not perform the manoeuvre in a safe and controlled manner”.
He was given a 10-second time penalty, which dropped him from ninth to tenth in the final standings, but more importantly, it was the two penalty points that pushed him over the edge.
Magnussen quickly collected penalty points early in the 2024 season, putting himself in a dangerous position.
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Haas driver Kevin Magnussen has been ruled out of the next race of the season in Azerbaijan after accumulating too many penalty points following a collision with Pierre Gasly at the Italian Grand Prix.
He picked up three yellow cards for a collision with Williams' Alex Albon in Saudi Arabia, and two more for a collision with RB's Yuki Tsunoda in China.
Magnusson then scored five points over the weekend at the Miami Grand Prix, three for unjustified leaving the track while defending against Lewis Hamilton in the sprint, and two more for a collision with Logan Sargent in the full-distance race.
Formula 1 heads to mainland Europe for the Baku and Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 13-15, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership – no contract, cancel anytime
