Bearman is currently in his second season in the F1 feeder series. In 2023, he participated in his first season and finished sixth in the standings. Before that, in 2022, he competed in F3 and achieved third place in the standings.
Although Bearman did not achieve immediate success by winning the F2 Championship like some other drivers, such as Oscar Piastri, he made a strong impression when he made his F1 debut last week in Jeddah. He replaced Carlos Sainz at Ferrari, who was undergoing an appendicitis surgery. Despite the limited preparation time, Bearman almost qualified and delivered an impressive performance in the race, finishing seventh and scoring points. This achievement is even more remarkable considering the pressure of driving for the renowned Ferrari team.
Assessing Bearman’s performance in Saudi Arabia, Vasseur praised his calm approach throughout the weekend. Despite reminders of his young age and the expectations associated with driving for Ferrari, Bearman managed to stay focused on the main goal and not get involved in unnecessary details. Vasseur was particularly impressed with how Bearman handled the challenges of a shortened weekend without the opportunity to participate in FP1 and FP2. He made a seamless transition to qualifying and showed a strong performance in Jeddah.
In addition to his F1 debut, Bearman also had the opportunity to test the F1-75 car in Fiorano as part of Ferrari’s previous car testing program. The team shared a video of Bearman’s testing session on their official Twitter account.
In an interview with Sky Sports F1 after the race, the French driver expressed his surprise at his teammate Ollie’s impressive performance. He praised Ollie for his gradual progress throughout the weekend, especially in the qualifying session where he almost made it to Q3. Despite initial concerns about the pit stop procedures and start, Ollie remained composed and executed the race flawlessly, even increasing his pace towards the end when Norris and Hamilton were closing in. Overall, it was a remarkable achievement. The driver also commended Ollie’s solid performance throughout the event, highlighting his error-free approach, valuable feedback, and calm demeanor on the radio. The Ferrari team manager, when asked about Ollie’s future in F1, acknowledged the possibility but emphasized the need for him to stay focused on his next challenge in F2. Although this weekend’s race had its costs, including Ollie losing his pole position in F2, he will have opportunities to participate in FP1 sessions this year. After the Saudi Arabian GP, Ollie had the chance to drive the 2022 F1-75 Ferrari car at the Fiorano track as part of the team’s program.
