Oliver Bearman completed his first FP1 session of the season with Haas on Friday at Imola. Fans had the opportunity to get another glimpse of the Englishman after his spectacular Saudi Arabia debut.
Ferrari called up their junior driver for the race in Jeddah after Carlos Sainz had to go hospital with appendicitis. He stepped in for the final practice session, qualifying and the race.
Bearman won driver of the day after finishing an impressive seventh place under the lights. While Sainz was fit to return for the subsequent race in Australia, he knew he would have further opportunities in F1 this year.
Haas were already planning to hand him six practice outings over the course of the season. This would give them the opportunity to evaluate his readiness for a 2025 seat.
Bearman’s Imola weekend got off to a rough start. Either side of his hour at Haas, he’s fulfilling his customary Formula 2 duties, and he crashed out of the practice session in his Prema.
Fortunately. the 18-year-old was able to refocus before he stepped into the VF-24. He ended up finishing 15th fastest, 1.6 seconds off pace-setter Charles Leclerc.
F1 fans demand that Haas give Oliver Bearman a 2025 seat
After witnessing his performance, F1 fans across social media had a clear message for Haas. They want to see him in the car permanently.
One, @formulabills, said they’d already ‘seen enough’ and demanded that the American team ‘sign Bearman for next year’. They would then either retain Kevin Magnussen or hire Valtteri Bottas as his teammate.
Another, @brawngpf1team, suggested that Haas should ‘get Bearman in for the rest of the year’ at the expense of Magnussen. The Dane is just two penalty points away from receiving a race ban.
@raka250908 said he ‘really deserves a seat’, while @ashiee46 can’t believe he hasn’t been signed already. @FormulaChess feels as if he’s virtually ‘confirmed for 2025’ after a solid afternoon.
Bearman’s teammate Nico Hulkenberg was 20th and slowest in the session, but given that he was four seconds off the pace, it’s safe to say he wasn’t chasing lap time. What will encourage Haas is that the youngster was able to mix it with far more experienced midfield rivals.
Oliver Bearman has already received ‘fantastic news’ in F1 driver market
Bearman received a huge boost last month when Audi confirmed the signing of Hulkenberg. Natalie Pinkham saw that as ‘fantastic’ news for the Briton, with a clear vacancy now available at Haas.
Indeed, it now looks almost ‘inevitable’ that Ayao Komatsu will offer him a promotion. The bigger questions at this stage may surround the identity of his teammate.
Ferrari will of course have to formally assent to Bearman’s move but it can only benefit them. If he fulfills his potential in F1, he could be in the conversation to succeed Lewis Hamilton when he one day decides to leave Ferrari.
It won’t be long before Bearman is back in the Haas. Magnussen and Hulkenberg will take over for the full Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix weekends, but he’s slated to return for first practice in Spain.
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