F1 team close to announcing SPECIAL talent as 2025 driver

Haas Formula 1 team are reportedly set to announce one of their drivers for the 2025 season after taking their time to make a decision.

The driver market transcended into chaos as early as February this year after Lewis Hamilton confirmed he would be moving to Ferrari from Mercedes.

READ MORE: F1 team ANNOUNCE star driver signing on long-term contract

That meant Carlos Sainz was in the hunt for a seat, and he was later joined by outgoing Alpine driver Esteban Ocon.

Meanwhile, a handful of contract extensions have secured drives into 2025 and beyond, including for Aston Martin pair Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, as well as Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly.

Who will drive for Haas in 2025?

The German's team-mate, Kevin Magnussen, may also be on the way out with some believing he is preparing for a career outside of F1 after his contract expires at the end of this year.

Haas have often languished towards the bottom of the grid since their entry into the sport in 2016, though have showed encouraging pace of late and scored a vital points haul in Austria with P6 and P8.

New team principal Ayao Komatsu took over from Guenther Steiner at the beginning of 2024, so Haas could be a more appealing destination than in previous years.

Haas have been linked with several candidates, including Ferrari driver academy star Oliver Bearman as well as Sainz and Ocon.

Now, Formu1a.uno report that Haas "will announce on Thursday only Oliver Bearman, who will drive for the American team in 2025, but not the second driver.

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"It is in fact very interesting how Carlos Sainz has stopped negotiations with Williams to further explore the proposal made by [Flavio] Briatore [new executive advisor at Alpine], with whom he met in the last few hours in an important meeting in Monte Carlo.

"Linked to Sainz are then numerous other seats, such as that of Ocon, who seemed very close to signing with Haas, while now he has reopened contacts with Williams."

Whether Haas are able to attract Ocon to join Bearman is not yet clear. In the Ferrari youngster, though, the American team are gaining a talent who impressed on his debut with the Scuderia in Saudi Arabia when he stepped in for Sainz.

Bearman is having a less successful time in F2, however, where he sits 14th in the standings - the same position as he is in the F1 championship having only competed in one race.

The 19-year-old did win the sprint race in Austria, however, and remains an attractive prospect for Haas to develop in 2025.

The Brit will be behind the wheel of the VF-24 once more in Silverstone for his latest free practice outing with the team.

READ MORE: Mercedes begin investigation after Hamilton 'sabotage' emails

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