George Russell, Oliver Bearman, Lando Norris, Great Britain, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Rookie revealed as F1 driver's REPLACEMENT at Azerbaijan GP

A rookie has received an exciting promotion

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 10 September 2024 09:12

A rookie star has been revealed as the replacement for a Formula 1-bound driver ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Whilst F1's last outing at Monza was the dream scenario for Charles Leclerc, the outcome could not have been more different for Haas star Kevin Magnussen.

F1 HEADLINES: Newey faces WOBBLE before future announcement as Horner caught in feisty exchange

Article continues under video

Following contact with Pierre Gasly, the Dane was awarded a 10-second time penalty, and two points were added to his Super Licence meaning he has now reached the maximum 12 penalty points for a 12-month period, resulting in a one-race ban.

Haas have chosen Ollie Bearman to replace Magnussen for the Azerbaijan GP, with the British star joining the team full-time in 2025. It means that there will be four British drivers lining up on the grid in Baku.

Kevin Magnussen has received a race ban for Baku

Ollie Bearman will replace Kevin Magnussen in Baku

Who will replace Ollie Bearman in Formula 2?

Bearman’s promotion to F1 for the weekend means that his Prema seat in F2 will be vacant, with Formula 3 star Gabriele Mini now being confirmed to be stepping up to race alongside Kimi Antonelli.

Mini competed with Prema in this year's F3 season, where he finished second in the championship, after a heartbreaking weekend at Monza.

The Italian was denied the title during the final race when his championship rival, Leonardo Fornaroli, passed Christian Mansell on the last-corner and claimed second place, denying Mini the title.

However, the 19-year-old was disqualified from the feature race for running tyre pressures that were below the minimum prescribed levels in a further blow to the youngster.

"[I’m] very happy to be joining Prema Racing for the FIA Formula 2 event at Baku," Mini said in response to his promotion.

"We had a strong season in 2024, and we have been fighting for the title until the last corner.

"Formula 2 is the main option for 2025 so it’s also very important to join early at Baku. It’s a good opportunity for me to learn with the new car and series."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Prema (@prema_team)

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

View full biography

Christian Horner Daniel Ricciardo Charles Leclerc Haas Azerbaijan Grand Prix Pierre Gasly