Oliver Bearman made an extremely successful debut with Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian GP in the 2024 season. The 19-year-old was rumored to be considered for a seat at multiple teams amidst his great performance. Since then, Bearman has successfully gained a multi-year contract with the Haas F1 team. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has praised the British driver over his highly coveted seat in F1.
Oliver Bearman had previously opened up about still thinking about the Ferrari dream after landing a seat with the Haas F1 team. Charles Leclerc pointed out that he knew Bearman very well after his stint with Ferrari in Jeddah. Additionally, the Monegasque labeled the 19-year-old as ‘incredibly talented’ and noted that he was very well prepared to race in F1.
I know Ollie [Bearman] very well. He's such an incredibly talented driver. I think Ollie is very well prepared.Charles Leclerc said, as reported by planetf1.com.
Apart from this, Leclerc recalled Oliver Bearman’s performance at the Saudi Arabian GP. The Briton scored a P6 finish and scored great points for the team in Carlos Sainz’s absence. Hence, the Monegasque added that the 19-year-old proved to be very strong straightaway after his first appearance in F1.
With a seat on the #F1 grid confirmed for next season, Charles Leclerc has high praise for Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman, as he gets set to join Haas next year.#Ferrari #CharlesLeclerc pic.twitter.com/kg0HzkXdm5
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) July 15, 2024He has shown that in Jeddah, when he jumped in the car and was straight away very, very strong.Charles Leclerc added.
Helmut Marko claims Oliver Bearman was at the ‘right place’ at the ‘right time’
Oliver Bearman left his F2 duties for a week and raced in Jeddah to showcase his racing prowess on the grid. The 19-year-old was presented with a golden opportunity that he took the best advantage of. Upon this, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believed that Bearman’s debut performance showed him his future in Formula 1. However, Bearman’s F2 performance alone wouldn’t be enough to land him a seat in F1.
Oliver Bearman will be a driver moving up to Formula 1 who was in the right place at the right time. His race in the Ferrari showed him his GP future. If you take his Formula 2 results into account, things would look a lot worse for him.Helmut Marko said, as reported by planetf1.com.
Regardless, Marko believed that it was good to witness new and young talent entering Formula 1 as the 80-year-old believed some current drivers were getting ‘stagnant’.
But it’s good that young people are coming to Formula 1, I’m absolutely in favour of that. I can’t name any names, but there are drivers in the field who are stagnating and are better or worse depending on the mood.Helmut Marko added.
Time will tell about how Oliver Bearman’s time at the Haas F1 team pans out. The American constructor is currently performing better than expected with Nico Hulkenberg’s performances. Hence, Bearman’s racing skills could only take the team to greater heights in the pinnacle of motorsport.
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