From scoring the pole position in Formula 2 to the sudden call of Ferrari to participate in the qualifying test and the race in Saudi Arabia. A rollercoaster of sensations invaded Oliver Bearman, the third among the youngest drivers in history to take part in a Formula 1 competition., behind three-time champion Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll. The Englishman was nominated as a reserve by the Scuderia in 2024, and repeats that condition in the Haas team, with which he worked last year in the free tests of the Mexican and Abu Dhabi grands prix.
The emergency suffered by the starting pilot Carlos Sainz (h.)who underwent surgery after training last Thursday due to appendicitis, modified the plans of the talented British 18 years in the Jeddah circuit. A solid presentation, with a seventh place final and words and gestures of champions, such as Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen, were a reward for the task on a very high-speed street track. The future in Great CircusHowever, it does not appear so crystal clear for Bearman.
For two years, Bearman has been part of Ferrari Driver Academy. The call from Maranello was consummated after an outstanding campaign in his first season in Formula 3, in which he added one victory and eight podiums, and his third position in the championship and the status of second among the best rookies from the calendar confirmed the background of the man born in Chelmsford, Essex, on May 8, 2005. That at the age of 8 he debuted in karts, at the local level; In 2017 he took over the Kartmasters British Grand Prix and two seasons later he had success in the IAME Euro Series. In 2020 the celebrations discovered him at the IAME International, and when Oliver chose to continue his development in single-seaters, the Covid-19 pandemic slowed his progress. His performance led to promotion: ADAM Formula 4 championship, Italian Formula 4…
“He is a great driver, very talented. This isn’t the easiest track to debut on, but he did fantastically well. I wish him the best,” congratulated the Spaniard Alonso, who won his first F. 1 world champion title the year Bearman was born. “Yes, crazy!” exclaimed the Spaniard upon hearing the information after the Arabian qualifying test.
“It almost took me out of Q3. Getting into the car only in the third practice and performing the way he did shows talent and a great job,” said Hamilton, a seven-time champion who debuted in the Great Circus at 22 years old. “Where was I at 18? In Formula 3. I was not even remotely prepared for F.1. I think if I had reached that age, my career wouldn’t be the way it is. But times are different. The F. 2 cars are now faster,” analyzed the Briton, who in 2025 will be part of Ferrari and, possibly, share information, practices and meetings with Bearman.
Before the premiere he received a message from Vettel, four-time champion in Red Bull Racing, Ferrari driver between 2015 and 2020 and retired from Formula 1 in 2022 at Aston Martin. “He is one of the heroes of my childhood. That text before the race was very nice. Thank you, Seb,” commented an excited Ollie. The praise of Verstappen, winner in Jeddah and leader of the Drivers’ World Championship after two rounds, shows the British’s hierarchy: “I was watching his first laps in practice, because that is when you can judge whether someone is comfortable or not in the car. . And already in the second and third laps I realized that it was a good start, and I liked seeing it. Finish eleventh, six tenths off pole [en la Q2] It’s more than what could be asked for. Hopefully I also enjoyed a bit on the track; “It is quite stressful to arrive at a new team and drive a basically new car, with no experience on this circuit.”
In Saudi Arabia, Ferrari enlisted two drivers from its academy and the president John Elkann, present in the box, merged into an emotional hug with Bearman. “Having two local drivers is a source of pride. It’s nice to see how the talent at Ferrari finds a place to express itself. It was nice to see Oliver run, the tension with which his father followed him. It is not easy to be ready with such little time,” said the one chosen by his grandfather, Gianni Agnelli, to preside and control the automaker. With the 47-year-old American at the helm, the Scuderia He undertook important changes in the management of the F. 1 team: he replaced Mattia Binotto with Frédéric Vasseur and hired Hamilton for 2025.
The multi-year relationship with the seven-time champion and the extension to Charles Leclerc for five seasons prevent Ferrari from making room for Bearmanwho hardly has any intention of sustaining himself as a reserve or competing in other categories, as do his substitute peers Antonio Giovinazzi and Robert Schwartzman, who last weekend performed at the World Endurance Championship in Qatar. A seat at Haas would be a possible destination. “Last year, when he did the training in Mexico and Abu Dhabi, It was clear that he has what it takes to be an F. 1 driver and I will be very happy to have him for six practice sessions this year.“, he flattered him Hey Komatsu, replacing Guenther Steiner as director of the American team. Haas and Ferrari are closely linked and the Japanese I would target Bearman to replace Kevin Magnussen or Nico Hülkenbergwhose contracts will end at the end of the current course.
The last experience of adding a young man from the Ferrari academy was not satisfactory for Haas, which gave space to Mick Schumacher during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Michael’s young son and Formula 2 champion in 2020, starred in 43 grand prix without standing out and a couple of accidents that destroyed the car. Even so, in the second year with the German the team rose to eighth place in the Constructors’ World Championship, but in 2023 it sank again to last place. With the unit added by Hülkenberg, tenth in Jeddah, Haas is now the sixth team that has scored points in 2024 among the ten that make up the grid. Komatsu predicted a complex start to the championship, but intends to develop a coherent plan to feed VF-24 with updates, while spying on the future of Bearman.
He Great Circus will move next week to Melbourne for the third date on the calendar. Ferrari, in no rush, has not yet announced whether Sainz will return to the grid. In Maranello they speculate that the Spaniard will be active again during the Australian Grand Prix, but they have already verified that they have a talented young man waiting for a seat.
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