KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — British teenager Oliver Bearman is returning to Formula 1 ahead of schedule after the Haas team said Friday he will replace the suspended Kevin Magnussen for next week's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Bearman signed in July to race for Haas in 2025 but he’ll make an early appearance with his new team in Baku next week because Magnussen is serving a one-race suspension for accumulating too many penalty points.
The 19-year-old Bearman usually races in Formula 2 but was impressive as he finished in seventh place in his F1 debut for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in March after Carlos Sainz Jr. was sidelined with appendicitis.
“It’s definitely more of a challenge stepping in to race as a reserve driver, with limited prep-time and so on, but I’m in the fortunate position of having done it earlier in the year with Scuderia Ferrari, so I can at least call on that experience,” Bearman said Friday in a Haas statement.
Bearman, who is a Ferrari academy driver, is one of two reserve drivers at Haas this year. The other, Pietro Fittipaldi, competes in IndyCar, which has a race next week in Nashville.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Ferrari driver Oliver Bearman watches in the paddock at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Thursday, Aug.29, 2024. The Formula one race will be held on Sunday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Ferrari driver Oliver Bearman talks in the paddock at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Thursday, Aug.29, 2024. The Formula one race will be held on Sunday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Tito Jackson, one of the brothers who made up the beloved pop group the Jackson 5, has died at age 70.
Tito was the third of nine Jackson children, which include global superstars Michael and sister Janet, part of a music-making family whose songs are still beloved today.
“It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that our beloved father, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson is no longer with us. We are shocked, saddened and heartbroken. Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being,” his sons TJ, Taj and Taryll said in a statement posted on Instagram late Sunday.
The Jackson 5 included brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael. The family group, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, produced several No. 1 hits in the 1970s including "ABC," “I Want You Back” and “I’ll Be There.”
The Jackson 5 became one of the biggest names in music under the guidance of their father, Joe Jackson, a steelworker and guitar player who supported his wife and nine children in Gary, Indiana. As the family’s music careers took off, they relocated to California.
Born on Oct. 15, 1953, Toriano Adaryll “Tito” Jackson was the least-heard member of the group as a background singer who played guitar. His brothers launched solo careers, including Michael, who became one of the world's biggest performers known as The King of Pop.
Michael Jackson died at age 50 on June 25, 2009.
Speaking to The Associated Press in December 2009, Jackson said his younger brother's death pulled the family closer together.
“I would say definitely it brought us a step closer to each other. To recognize that the love we have for each other when one of us is not here, what a great loss,” he said, adding he would personally never “be at peace with it.”
“There’s still moments when I just can’t believe it. So I think that’s never going to go away,” he said.
In 2014, Jackson said he and his brothers still felt Michael Jackson's absence in their shows that continued with international tours.
“I don’t think we will ever get used to performing without him. He’s dearly missed," he said, noting that his spirit "is with us when we are performing. It gives us a lot of positive energy and puts a lot of smiles on our faces."
Days before his death, Jackson posted a message on his Facebook page from Munich, Germany, on Sept. 11, where he visited a memorial to Michael Jackson with his brothers.
“Before our show in Munich, my brothers Jackie, Marlon, and I, visited the beautiful memorial dedicated to our beloved brother, Michael Jackson. We’re deeply grateful for this special place that honors not only his memory but also our shared legacy. Thank you for keeping his spirit alive," he wrote.
Tito Jackson was the last of the nine Jackson siblings to release a solo project with his 2016 debut, “Tito Time.” He released a song in 2017, “One Way Street,” and told the AP in 2019 that he was working on a sophomore album.
Jackson said he purposely held back from pursuing a solo career, because he wanted to focus on raising his three sons: TJ, Taj and Taryll, who formed their own music group 3T. Jackson's website offers a link to a single featuring 3T and Stevie Wonder titled, “Love One Another.”
Tito Jackson also is survived by his brothers Jermaine, Randy, Marlon and Jackie, his sisters Janet, Rebbie and La Toya and their mother, Katherine. Their father died in 2018.
Jackson's death was first reported by Entertainment Tonight.
FILE - Pop star Michael Jackson, center, his mother Katherine Jackson, right, and brother Tito Jackson, left, leave Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, Calif., April 7, 2005, after another day of testimony in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)
FILE - From left, brothers Jackie Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Marlon Jackson pose for a portrait together in Beverly Hills, Calif., Dec. 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Singer Tito Jackson arrives at the opening night of, "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour," in Los Angeles, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, File)
FILE - The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, front right; Marlon Jackson, front left; Tito Jackson, back left; Jackie Jackson, back center; and Jermaine Jackson, back right; pose for this undated photo together in Los Angeles. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Tito Jackson, a member of the famed Jackson 5, poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, July 24, 2019, to promote his solo project, a new version of his 2017 song "One Way Street." (Photo by Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP, File)
