Driving in place of a banned Kevin Magnussen, Ollie Bearman had a stellar Azerbaijan GP on Sunday. Driving for Haas, he finished P10, earning a solitary point, which was enough for him to enter the history books.
Bearman became the first driver to score points for two different teams in his first two F1 races. After the race in Baku, he has a total of seven points and sits P16 in the 2024 championship standings, one place ahead of Magnussen, despite having competed in only two races.
Six of those points came in March when Bearman made his F1 debut as a last-minute replacement for Carlos Sainz, who underwent emergency appendicitis surgery at the Saudi Arabian GP. Bearman guided the Ferrari SF-24 to a P7 finish that evening in Jeddah.
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Impressively, Bearman had taken part in just one Free Practice session before qualifying in Saudi Arabia, which left a lasting impression. What was even more surprising was that he finished ahead of seasoned drivers like Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
In contrast, Bearman had more time to prepare in Baku last weekend. After receiving two penalty points in Monza three weeks ago, bringing his total for the year to 12, Magnussen faced a race ban. Bearman, who is set to join Haas full-time in 2025, was called up to replace the Dane and delivered a commendable performance for the Kannapolis-based team.
Admittedly, the 19-year-old’s outing in Azerbaijan was far from smooth. He suffered a crash in FP3, which many thought would dent his confidence. However, he bounced back to outperform his teammate in qualifying, starting the race from P10.
Driving the Haas #50 car, Bearman was the sole points finisher for his team on Sunday. Things could have been even better for him, who made life very difficult for Hamilton once again. This time, however, the seven-time World champion was able to overtake him as he went on to finish P9.
