After the sudden development of Carlos Sainz’s appendicitis, Oliver Bearman was under pressure to deliver a good performance. Yet, the British prodigy pulled off a splendid P7 result on his F1 debut at the Saudi Arabian GP. However, apart from the racing pressure, Bearman revealed that the media intimidated him.
On the High-Performance podcast, he highlighted that the attention during the weekend in Jeddah with hundreds of cameras surrounding him put him under real pressure. However, the fact it was on very short notice, he did not get the time to overthink things. That is how he effectively managed the pressure.
Bearman said, “I think the positive part was that I was told only hours before it happened, I didn’t have time to overthink it and, you know, get nervous because I was straight to work.”
“So, that helped me to kind of keep my mind occupied and not focusing on the pressure and the attention and everything like that.”, he added.
Bearman hit the ground running after FP3 and was putting in good times in qualifying. The British prodigy almost knocked out Lewis Hamilton for a Q3 spot. Regardless, he beat Hamilton in the race for his P7 finish and made several headlines.
However, the 19-year-old certainly needs to get used to the media attention now. He’ll be a full-time driver for Haas and as a rookie, each of his performances will be under the radar. Although, he’s already feeling at home with the American team.
Bearman reveals Gene Haas’ advice ahead of his imminent move
Being part of the Ferrari academy, Bearman has already gotten a few practice sessions with Haas. Ahead of his move, he also got the opportunity to talk to the team owner, Gene Haas. They talked for an hour about the sport and the technical aspect of it all. Moreover, he also got some advice and realized that their goals were aligned.
Bearman revealed, “He [Gene Haas] of course gave me the standard advice which is, you know, build it up and don’t put it in the wall, of course. But you know, I think we have the same goal together. We have great, really high ambitions, both me and the team. So I’m really excited to start the partnership together.”
While Gene Haas has been quite stern with former team boss Guenther Steiner, the American businessman is taking progressive steps to improve his team. Recruiting Bearman is one of those moves and he would expect the British prodigy to flourish his talent next season for Haas’ benefit.
