Bearman admits he felt 'dejected' after competing at the Saudi Arabian GP

F1 News

oliver bearman talks about the saudi arabian grand prix 2024
12 July at 07:00
  • Olly Darcy
  • Editor

It's been a rollercoaster of a season for Oliver Bearman. It has been a tough second season in Formula 2 for the Brit, sitting 13th in the championship with only 34 points. However, after replacing Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, Bearman showed great potential with a great P7, finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton and earning some World Championship points.

Since then, Bearman has driven for Haas in some free practice sessions and impressed once more, and that has led to him being signed by the American team to sit behind the wheel of the Haas car for the 2025 season.

However, with Bearman only having the chance to take part in one Grand Prix in the 2024 season, the Brit spoke about how that race weekend in Jeddah was a mix of the elation of being involved in his first Grand Prix of his career, but the disappointment of knowing this will not continue for many months.

Bearman describes 'mind-blowing' weekend in Jeddah

Speaking to The Times in an interview, the soon-to-be Haas driver spoke about the highs and the lows of the weekend in Saudi Arabia: "I flew to Jeddah to compete in an F2 race on the same weekend as the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. I knew Carlos Sainz was feeling unwell, but it was still a shock when he was rushed to hospital with appendicitis. I was only 18, and to get the call-up for my first F1 drive was mind-blowing.

"Suddenly I was competing against all my heroes," the 19-year-old continued. "Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen. I just thought, 'Go out and do your best', so when I crossed the line in seventh place, it was fantastic. I couldn’t believe what had just happened."

It was a stunning debut performance from Bearman after taking the wheel of Sainz's car on such short notice, and he announced himself to the world of F1 with that superb seventh place. However, Bearman then knew that his time in F1 was up, for now: "I felt a bit dejected because I knew it would be a while before I got the same chance again."

However, the chance will come again for Bearman when driving for Haas in 2025.