Faced with Bearman, the Haas grandpas join forces and resist

How far away the time of quarrels, of “S*** my balls, honey” and self-centered grumbling between two men who had to wait until their thirties and fatherhood to change their minds about each other. For a season that Nico Hulkenberg (36 years) and Kevin Magnussen (31 years old) are teammates at Haas, the two dads would even tend to like each other, in addition to respecting each other.

Associated last year under the leadership of Günther Steiner who ended up admitting his aversion to rookies, the two men undoubtedly feel a little less protected this year, while the charismatic Italian has left his place to Ayao Komatsu on the Haas wall. Failing to have become brothers, “K-Mag” and “Hulk” are pulling in the same direction and have chosen to ally rather than oppose each other, particularly in the face of those who would threaten their positions for 2025.

Bearman, a possibility at Haas in 2025?

Author of a major performance in Jeddah at the wheel of the Classic Ferrari for sale de Carlos Sainz, last-minute replacement Oliver Bearman made his mark with a final 7th place and clearly positioned himself as a candidate for a starting seat next year on the grid. At Ferrari, the duo Leclerc-Hamilton is already locked, but several sources speak of a possibility of seeing the Briton join Haas in 2025.

In addition to the strong technical partnership between the Scuderia and the American team, which has been partially installed in the Maranello neighborhoods for several months, the 18-year-old especially impressed internally when he took part in two free practice sessions with the VF-23 last year (in Mexico and Abu Dhabi), starting with Ayao Komatsu, the Japanese believing that the Ferrari protégé had “the complete package” to shine in F1. So obviously, faced with the overwhelming weight of the hype, the two current holders at Haas will start to ask themselves questions with a view to 2025. Each in turn, the two men were invited to express their views on performance and future of Bearman, by slipping in a few messages that are far from trivial!

Still. Not. Over. This.#SaudiArabianGP #F2 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Rfll1LPhGT

- Formula 2 (@ Formula2) March 14, 2024

First through the Dane, rounder and more political in his response. “First of all, I think going into a race weekend with a big team like Ferrari obviously comes with a lot of pressure. At the same time, when you're thrown into the deep end like that, it can also go the other way, which is that you don't feel a lot of pressure because the job is so big that you not sure what optimal performance looks like in this case. »

And Magnussen adds. “Would I like him as a teammate? First, I wish him the best. Nico is a very, very competent teammate. And, you know, I think we have a really good dynamic on the team. We work really well together. And I think that for the adventure that we are going through as a team, it is useful to have experienced riders, but all of that is obviously out of my control. I think we just have to make the most of what we have right now with the two drivers and the car that we have, and I think it's going well. » Understand: no need for an 18 year old to come and bother us!

A solid foundation to build our weekend on in Melbourne 🇦🇺

This is how the first session finished ⤵️# HaasF1 #AusGP # FP1 pic.twitter.com/R4eZHXHdYC

— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 22, 2024

Nico Hülkenberg, in his own way, says nothing different when asked if Bearman is a threat to his own seat, and calls on his audience not to give in to the hype: "I think it's very early, way too early to say that, he commented after nevertheless paying tribute to the Englishman's performance. He has a big job to do F2 first of all, because otherwise, if he doesn't do well in this championship, the Jeddah race will be forgotten in two days. You know how it works. So I think there's a lot of pressure on him to deliver in F2. »

“But he did a good job in Jeddah, he acknowledged. He had a good race, without making any mistakes. He was in the second best car after all, and you see how powerful and valuable it is, and what a difference it makes. So obviously it's a bit difficult for all the other riders in the middle of the pack and for us to see that. But it's like that." The 35-year-old German did not hesitate to put his younger brother under pressure. It's a good fight! Asked about his reservist in Melbourne, Fred Vasseur finally corroborated Nico Hülkenberg's statements, calling for patience.

“He was perfect. The whole team was very happy with what he did on the track and his behavior off the track. If this is the most impressive thing I've seen? We must avoid drawing hasty conclusions. He must concentrate on F2. All the media will draw conclusions if he doesn't win F2. We have to take it step by step. He will have other opportunities to drive in EL1, to do tests. But F2 remains the goal of the year.” The silly season 2025 is definitely underway, and it seems that the grandpas have decided to put up a fight!

ALSO READ > Haas leaves door open for Oliver Bearman in F1 after Saudi GP