A door opened and a seat became available on Friday for British teenager Ollie Bearman to secure a place on the Formula One grid next season.

The 18-year-old, who made a fine debut for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia last month, is helped by news that Nico Hulkenburg will leave Haas at the end of the year.

The 36-year-old German is joining the old Sauber team, which is due to be rebooted as Audi in 2026.

That means there is a vacancy at the Ferrari-powered Haas.

Bearman, a Ferrari junior driver, is expected to be handed it.

A door has opened for British driver Oliver Bearman, 18, to earn a seat in F1 for next season

Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg (second right) will leave the team for Sauber at the end of the season

Chelmsford-born Bearman, 19 next month, is a reserve driver at Haas, which is in part a Ferrari training ground.

Bearman underlined his talent in Jeddah when called up as a last-minute replacement for Carlos Sainz, who went down with appendicitis.

Despite only one practice session, he finished seventh, fending off fellow Britons Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton as the race reached a climax – a display that won him rave reviews.

One came from triple world champion Max Verstappen, who said: ‘It is super hard to jump in on a track like this.

‘I watched his first few laps in FP3, because that is where you can judge if someone is comfortable in the car, and by lap two or three I thought this is a strong start. And to qualify in P11 is more than you could have asked of him.

Hulkenberg has top-scored for Haas this season with four points from five races so far in 2025

Haas are currently seventh in the constructors standings with five points ahead of Williams, Alpine and Sauber

‘Everyone in the paddock has seen that he did a great job.’

Bearman, who competes in F2, will take the wheel of an F1 car again in Imola, where he is due to drive for Haas in the first practice session.