Oliver Bearman was back in Formula 1 action at Imola on Friday. The teenager took part in the opening practice session for Haas in place of Kevin Magnussen.
It was the first time he’d driven in an F1 weekend since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, when he memorably stepped in for an unwell Carlos Sainz. Bearman steered the Ferrari to seventh place and won driver of the day.
While a solitary hour of practice was a relative comedown, the 18-year-old still performed well. He set the 15th-fastest time, 1.6 seconds off the overall pace.
It was difficult to gauge anything from the comparison to teammate Hulkenberg, because he was 20th and four seconds down. Clearly, the German wasn’t chasing lap time.
But Haas will still be pleased to see the youngster in the thick of the midfield action between the Alpine of Esteban Ocon and the Sauber of Valtteri Bottas. While his immediate focus will now be his Formula 2 duties with Prema, he’ll return for FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix next month.
Bearman knows there’s a seat available at Haas for next year, which gives his six practice outings extra meaning. Hulkenberg has already announced he’ll be leaving to join Audi.
Ted Kravitz can’t believe publicity for Oliver Bearman
Speaking live on Sky Sports F1, pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz revealed that the Netflix cameras are following Bearman this weekend. They’re shooting for what will be the seventh season of the popular ‘Drive to Survive’ documentary, which features behind-the-scenes footage.
Kravitz is stunned that Bearman is the centre of attention even though his involvement in the weekend is so limited. He feels it reflects the level of ‘interest’ in the teenager after his spectacular debut.
He said: “Let’s just put that again – Ollie Bearman, who’s only doing an FP1 session, is the subject of the Netflix ‘Drive to Survive’ cameras this weekend.
“Some of the full-time drivers who have done five years haven’t been followed by the Drive to Survive cameras! That’s a mark of where they see the interest.”
Ayao Komatsu admits Oliver Bearman is facing ‘job interview’
Speaking ahead of Bearman’s FP1 run, Haas boss Ayao Komatsu said the team had a ‘golden opportunity’ to assess his ‘strengths and weaknesses’. With five more practice sessions still to go, he effectively faces a ‘job interview’ over the course of the year.
An unplanned opportunity may also crop up. Magnussen is just two penalty points away from accumulating a race ban, and the first of those won’t expire until next March.
If the Dane has to sit out a weekend, then Bearman will be ‘first in line’ to replace him. The team can have a great deal of confidence in his ability to deliver after his showing in Jeddah.
Clearly, this is his seat to lose. In fact, you could argue that, as it stands, he’s actually more likely to be driving for the team in 2025 than Magnussen.
The former McLaren man is in ‘serious’ danger of losing his drive. Haas are wondering whether 67-time podium-finisher Bottas might just be a better mentor for Bearman.
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