Why Oliver Bearman has replaced Kevin Magnussen at Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Haas are forced to switch drivers in Baku
Haas will get a taste of their newest driver this weekend as Oliver Bearman takes over from Kevin Magnussen in Baku.
Bearman is set to join the American F1 team for the 2025 season but will now be representing them at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
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The 19-year-old made his debut in Saudi Arabia in March, racing for Ferrari as he replaced Carlos Sainz who was suffering from appendicitis.
In that race, he finished seventh which handed him six World Championship points and that's still enough to see him currently sitting in 15th in the Drivers' Standings.
He is now set to return to the track, this time with Haas, and marvelbet369.com has taken a look at why...
Why has Bearman replaced Magnussen?
Bearman has replaced Magnussen in Baku as the Dane is banned.
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He has received a one-race suspension for reach 12 penalty points on his Super Licence, which is the maximum a driver can get.
Magnussen is the first driver to be suspended for a race since Romain Grosjean in 2012.
The 31-year-old breached the points limit after being handed two penalty points and 10-second time penalty for a clash with Pierre Gasly at the Italian Grand Prix.
Stewards deemed the Haas driver to be 'wholly to blame' for the incident and that he didn't drive in a 'safe and controlled manner'.
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The two penalty points were added onto the 10 he had already totted up from errors in the USA, China and Saudi Arabia.
Gasly stuck up for Magnussen after their incident though, and wanted to see his fellow driver's penalty removed.
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"Someone told me he got a 10 seconds penalty," he said. "I'm a bit surprised for that because he tried, but it was a bit of wheel to wheel and in the end I really didn't lose any time. I'm a bit surprised.
"I hope somehow they can revert on that because that will would be definitely unfair. I'll be happy to do it [speak with the stewards] - I'll see what I can do.
"That will feel very unfair for the incident that it was."
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However, Gasly was unable to prevent Magnussen from getting punished and therefore the Haas man has been banned.
It opens the door for Bearman now, and the youngster is hoping to have a successful weekend in Azerbaijan.
Speaking about the opportunity, Bearman said: “It’s definitely more of a challenge stepping in to race as a reserve driver, with limited prep-time and so on.
“But I’m in the fortunate position of having done it earlier in the year with Ferrari, so I can at least call on that experience.
"I’ve also had four FP1 sessions with Haas in the VF-24 already this season, so undoubtedly that will also prove to be valuable in tackling the full race weekend in Baku.
“The team is in good form at the moment and I’ll do my best to be prepared with the time we have available.
“The aim is to get out there and have a solid weekend in Azerbaijan.”
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