Oliver Bearman started the season as a Ferrari reserve but ended up making two appearances — one with Ferrari, and the other with Haas. Scoring points in both outings, Bearman earned plenty of plaudits with one coming from a former strategist, who compared him to a four-time Champion.
Labeling Bearman as ‘Little Seb’, Ruth Buscombe—the strategist in question—was impressed at the Briton’s technical acumen. She shared a picture of her with the Briton, where they appeared to be engaged in a fun conversation. But the reality was actually quite different.
She captioned it, “Fun Fact: This is actually a highly technical discussion on tire degradation mechanisms. Don’t let him fool you, @olliebearman is a massive geek – such a little Seb.”
Buscombe took Vettel’s name because of the ex-Red Bull driver’s massive interest in learning about the technical side of things in F1. In the past, Buscombe—after having worked with Vettel at Ferrari—revealed that he was “The geekiest driver I’ve ever worked with, by a country mile — He was really into all the numbers.”
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Vettel’s interest in learning about the workings of cars in the sport was also very evident during his final days in F1 when he was driving for Aston Martin. He struggled in his two seasons with the Silverstone-based squad, but after he left, they took off.
Many, including Team Principal Mike Krack, had revealed that the feedback Vettel provided to the team’s engineers had helped them make massive strides. Truly, there aren’t many in F1 like Vettel.
Who is the closest driver to Vettel on the F1 grid?
While Buscombe believed that Bearman is a Vettel regen, Bernie Collins, another of the German driver’s former strategists, had a different opinion. According to her, Esteban Ocon embodies Vettel’s qualities as a driver, displaying a relentless determination.
Collins explained that Vettel would chase the desired performance and optimal lap times tirelessly, which made him one of the most hardworking drivers on the grid. For her, Ocon is very similar.
She explained that the German racing ace tirelessly chases performance and lap time. This made him not only the hardest worker on the grid but someone obsessed with winning at all costs. Ocon, for her, shows the same traits.
“Ocon had quite a hard into F1 and really, really wanted it to work,” she said. “So those two actually worked quite hard I think in the background.”
Bearman will join Haas as a full-time driver in 2025, and if what Buscombe said about him is true, the 19-year-old could be added to Collin’s exclusive Ocon-Vettel list.
