Ferrari see Bearman ready for F1 in 2025: 'This speaks volumes'
General
Oliver Bearman has passed his F1 exam with flying colours. Replacing Carlos Sainz, he suddenly had to step into the Ferrari without preparation on Friday and Saturday in Saudi Arabia. The Briton impressed in the race with a seventh-place finish. At Ferrari, they think Bearman is ready for a permanent seat in 2025.
Sainz's replacement
Carlos Sainz had to drop out at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit due to appendicitis. Bearman - already present in Saudi Arabia because of his Formula 2 campaign- was designated by Frederic Vasseur as the Spaniard's replacement.
Jock Clear - head of the Ferrari Driver Academy - revealed in the F1 Nation Podcast that he was impressed by the still only 18-year-old driver's performance. "I was convinced before that and I think the fact that Fred was brave enough to put him in this car this weekend, under the circumstances, speaks volumes for what we’ve seen of him already."
Clear calls Bearman's performance "better than we could have expected". However, the engineer by origin simultaneously argues that there was no doubt within Ferrari that Sainz's replacement would put such a level on the mat. "I don’t want to belittle or diminish the achievement, we really, really are over the moon with everything, but we sort of put him there thinking, ‘I think he can do this’. And he’s absolutely vindicated that choice.”
Formula 1 for Bearman in 2025
Whether Bearman is ready for a full season driving in the king class of motorsport next year? "I think so," says Clear. The biggest opportunity for Bearman seems to be at Haas F1. There, the contracts of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen are expiring, and the latter in particular will have to start performing better if he is to be considered for a new commitment. The American formation still buys a lot of parts from Ferrari, so the Italians have a good start to possible negotiations.