Domino effect
Another piece of the piece moves market-pilots in perspective 2025 and – inevitably – we continue to fuel the classic domino effect that almost always follows the official transfer of a driver from one team to another. The Nico Hulkenberg’s move from Haas to Sauber for next season, with the inevitable thought of the advent of the giant Audi in two years, he frees up a seat within the American team.
The number one favorite to occupy it is the young talent from the Ferrari Academy Ollie Bearman, who did so well in his surprise debut in F1 this year in Jeddah, when he found himself having to replace Carlos Sainz in the SF-24, who had been operated on for appendicitis. After the disappointing outcome of the ‘experiments’ done with Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher Haas had decided to abandon the path of young peopleto focus on veterans such as Kevin Magnussen and, indeed, Nico Hulkenberg.
Young people are no longer scary
However, the farewell of Gunther Steiner, who was the first to be skeptical about the use of young talents in the team, should have caused this line of action to fall. Already in the past, within the Ferrari ‘client’ team, there were those who would have preferred to keep Schumacher rather than Magnussen at the end of the 2022 season. Now It seems unlikely that Ayao Komatsu would give up the chance to put Bearman in the carthus also helping Ferrari itself in weaning a driver on whom Maranello is certainly focusing for the future.
For his part, however, the 18-year-old Englishman will have to try to raise his head in an F2 championship which so far – pole in Saudi Arabia (not exploited given his ‘jump into F1) aside – has given him more disappointments than joys. Regardless of the title race, which will also depend on the growth of a Prema team that is strangely in difficulty, the first objective for Bearman must be to bring Andrea Kimi Antonelli closer in performancehis boxing partner and another talent who is talked about a lot in terms of the transfer market.
What future for Magnussen
Finally, regarding the second Haas seat, Kevin Magnussen will have to be good at trying to deserve a confirmation which, at the moment, seems probable. However, if the Dane’s profile is not convincing, it cannot be ruled out that Komatsu could decide to also look at the drivers’ market, full of interesting free agents with a view to 2025.
