With this third Grand Prix in Brazil, Oliver Bearman is officially no longer a rookie in the eyes of Formula 1 and the FIA (two GPs maximum for a driver to be considered a rookie, according to the regulations). The fact remains that the Briton still has a lot to learn in the premier category! For the third time this season, the future starter at Haas in 2025 was called at short notice to replace a driver. As in Baku, the Englishman took the seat of Kevin Magnussen, who was ill in São Paulo.
A third Grand Prix this season with, this time, a big particularity: the rain! Oliver Bearman took his first laps aboard a Formula 1 car on a wet track in an official session on Sunday. A baptism of fire and an express adaptation, with qualifying postponed to Sunday morning, just a few hours before the Grand Prix. If he managed to survive without going out in qualifying despite being eliminated in Q1 (while beating his teammate, all the same), the Briton had a much more difficult race…
From the first laps, Ollie Bearman made contact with Guanyu Zhou then with Franco Colapinto – the second earning him a spin and a 10-second penalty. Then, the Briton tried to drive in difficult conditions under pouring rain. “How are we allowed to run like that? Someone is going to crash! Talk to the FIA, it's really dangerous. I try not to die », shouted the English driver into his radio, before the Safety Car and then the red flag were deployed.
Bearman a “learned a lot” in the rain
On the restart, the #50 made a mistake even before the Safety Car was fully cleared… then hit the wall outside turn 6 three laps later, damaging his front wing in the contact. Final result: a rather improbable and flattering 12th place as the errors were numerous for the young 19-year-old driver. “The race was difficult, he summarizes. I made too many mistakes, which really compromised our race. On the one hand, we finished 12th, pretty close to the points, despite the number of mistakes I made. On the other hand, there were too many mistakes, too much wasted time and other things like that. It was a really difficult day. »
Despite this laborious experience, Oliver Bearman admits to having “learned a lot” in view of 2025, where he will be associated with Esteban Ocon… who scored a podium in the rain on Sunday in Brazil. Beneficial and essential driving in his preparation to become a regular driver at Haas next year. “First of all, I got to know the track, which I wouldn't have been able to do until next year. Every lap in the wet is really precious and I managed to do a lot of them today, so I'm quite happy. »puts the Briton into perspective, who certainly did not expect, at the start of the year, to compete in three Grands Prix in 2024!
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