Oliver Bearman had a remarkable opportunity at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last weekend, stepping into Ferrari’s cockpit and delivering an impressive P7 finish while standing in for Carlos Sainz.
Ferrari’s Team Principal, Frederic Vasseur, cautioned against jumping to conclusions regarding Oliver Bearman’s future in Formula 1 solely based on his debut at the Grand Prix. Bearman was called upon to substitute for Carlos Sainz after the latter was sidelined due to appendicitis.
Bearman faced a daunting challenge, with only one practice session to acclimate himself before qualifying. Despite narrowly missing out on a Q3 spot, he demonstrated his potential by securing the 11th position on the starting grid.
During the race, Bearman showcased his talent, steadily climbing through the ranks to claim a commendable seventh place when the checkered flag waved, thereby earning valuable points for Ferrari.
The 18-year-old’s unexpected promotion to the Ferrari team came after he clinched pole position in the Formula 2 weekend in Jeddah, underlining his promising skillset.
When questioned about the likelihood of Bearman securing a Formula 1 seat for the 2025 season following his debut, Vasseur responded: “The best way to help him is not to draw a conclusion today.
“We have to take it easy, that he will have another opportunity during the season to do FP1, to test the car, we will do it properly.
“The main focus is and will stay the F2 this season. He has a huge challenge.
“I will keep in mind also that he was on pole position, and we killed the weekend for him in F2! But he has a huge challenge in F2, and it’s the first challenge of the season.”
Bearman faced pressure in the latter stages of the race as Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton made late stops, opting for the Soft compound tires after an extended stint on the track.
Vasseur praised Bearman for his ability to handle the pressure from Norris and Hamilton as they pursued him on the demanding Jeddah circuit layout.
“It’s a mega weekend from Ollie,” he stated. “You know the story: we called him, was something like 2 PM on Friday I think, to jump into the car for FP3.
“It’s not Barcelona, we are in Jeddah, the challenge was mega and he had a very good FP3, he was doing step-by-step. Quali he missed Q3 by a couple of hundred thousand.
“The race today I was a bit nervous as you have so many things to manage in F1 with the starting procedure, with the pit stop, the steering wheel and so on.
“It was not an easy one and at the end of the day, it went very well.
“If you have a look, he was even able to push in the last lap to keep Lando and Lewis behind him.
“I was even surprised myself to push a little bit more from the pit wall and not be conservative as he was not doing mistakes at this stage.”
