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Oliver ‘Ollie’ Bearman got his chance to debut in F1 during a one-off cameo at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP. The Briton was filing in for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who was to undergo an appendicitis surgery. Bearman impressed on his debut, but what caught the eye of F1 icon, Martin Brundle was his battle with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
During the dying embers of the race, both Norris and Hamilton were in hot pursuit of the rookie. However, Bearman kept his composure and drove the SF-24 to a stunning P7 at the chequered flag on his F1 debut.
Speaking to Tom Clarkson on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Brundle explained what impressed him about that drive. He said, “In terms of just making the car function, I am not that surprised. But when he had Lando and Lewis hunting him down in the second phase of the race and he kept it out of the wall and kept his head intact; that’s the bit that impressed me.”
Bearman only had one practice session to get to grips with his F1 machinery. Despite this, the young British driver displayed his raw talent to the entire paddock with his scintillating debut drive. This garnered him immense praise from everyone in the paddock, including seven-time world champion and countryman, Lewis Hamilton.
Despite a torrid F2 campaign, Ollie Bearman could get promoted to F1 next year
After his debut, one man within the paddock seemed the most impressed. That man was Haas’ team principal, Ayao Komatsu. F1i quoted Komatsu as saying, “Amazing. This circuit is not the easiest circuit to jump in from FP3. So I’m very, very happy for him, and [he was] impressive.”
This has sparked rumors that Bearman might be heading for a full-time F1 seat in 2025 with the Kannapolis-based team. Haas is a Ferrari customer team, and Bearman is a Ferrari academy product, naturally, the two can come to an agreement. What’s more, Nico Hulkenberg will vacate a seat on the team next year as he moves on to Sauber/Audi. The Briton will get his first taste of Haas’ F1 machinery this weekend as he jumps into the car for a mandatory FP1 session at the Emilia Romagna GP.
That being said, Bearman’s form in his F2 campaign this year has been lacking. Granted, he missed the Saudi Arabian leg of the championship to make his F1 debut. But after three races into the season, he sits in 19th in the championship with only two points to his name. If he wants to knock on the doors of some F1 teams for a full-time opportunity soon, he must get his talking on track during the remainder of the F2 season.
