Filling in for Carlos Sainz, 18-year-old British F1 rookie, Oliver Bearman made a dream debut for Ferrari at last weekend’s Saudi Arabian GP. Bearman hit the ground running, finishing seventh, scoring points on debut. What’s more, he had just an hour of practice before suiting up for qualifying that weekend. Naturally, he has been making headlines and is being hailed as F1’s latest star. Bearman, however, is eager to put his Jeddah heroics behind him to focus on what matters most to him now – his F2 season.
Bearman, who wants to leave a lasting impression on this sport and earn himself a full-time seat said to BBC.com, “The thing is you are only as good as your last race. So in a week’s time or two weeks’ time, all this will be forgotten. And I will be judged on my previous F2 race. That is my main focus.”
If you want to see the effects of G-forces in an F1 car, just look at how much Oliver Bearman’s head goes side to side in the cockpit.
Must have been so physically demanding for an 18-year-old making his F1 debut. Makes his performance even more impressive. pic.twitter.com/JUtJZg9IvI
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) March 13, 2024
While his F1 debut was explosive, the start to his 2024 F2 campaign has been abysmal. He finished the opening round in Bahrain without any points in what surprised many, because of his incredible reputation.
He bounced back almost immediately in Jeddah, as he snatched a sublime pole position from Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini. However, as he geared up for the weekend ahead, Ferrari decided to call him up. This meant he couldn’t take part in the sprint race or feature race. Ending the weekend with 0 points once again, Bearman finds himself rock-bottom in the F2 standings. This is something he will want to rectify as soon as possible.
Oliver Bearman’s Jeddah heroics almost confirms F1 seat
Bearman has left a lasting impression on the paddock after his performance last weekend. With virtually no practice, the Briton effortlessly wrestled the SF-24 through an entire Grand Prix distance, oftentimes matching his teammate Leclerc’s pace.
This has increased Bearman’s chances of getting a seat in F1 next year. Interestingly, even before he drove a lap in the sport, Haas was already considering signing him. The Kannapolis-based outfit reportedly wanted Bearman in 2024 itself. However, before signing up a rookie, Aayo Komatsu wanted to make sure his car was strong, and wanted experienced drivers to oversee this transition.
#AMuS Michael Schmidt mentioned that Ferrari originally wanted to put Ollie Bearman already this year at Haas.
But since Haas had car issues last year, they wanted to fix the issues first before taking a rookie.Bearman is definitely the top candidate for Haas’s seat next year… pic.twitter.com/YBrGgkw6GK
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) March 12, 2024
2025 could be the perfect year to onboard Bearman into the team as Haas could potentially lose Nico Hulkenberg to Sauber next year. Kevin Magnussen too, is in the final year of his contract with the American team.
