Oliver Bearman hopes starring F1 debut is a “good job interview” for 2025
Oliver Bearman reflects on an impressive F1 debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Oliver Bearman is hopeful his starring drive to seventh in his F1 debut turns out to be a “good job interview” for his prospects of securing a drive on the grid in 2025.
Bearman enjoyed a sensational first race in F1, beating Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton to come home seventh for Ferrari.
The 18-year-old was drafted at the last minute as a replacement for Carlos Sainz who had undergone surgery after he was diagnosed with appendicitis.
Bearman narrowly missed out on Q2 before driving an error-free race to finish inside the points.
The Ferrari driver was put under immense pressure by Norris and Hamilton in the latter stages after they switched to softs, but he maintained his composure to come away with six points.
Even before his debut this weekend, Bearman has been heavily tipped to join Haas in 2025.
Reflecting on the impact his performance will have on his career prospects, Bearman insists that his focus is on his F2 season.
“First of all, F2 will be a bit less complicated now. I don’t have to worry about this battery strategy or anything like that. It’s great to have this opportunity in F1 but my main focus this year is F2. I hope I did a good job interview today,” he said.
“I think F2 is fantastic training because I felt really prepared. I think you saw from my first lap in FP I was straight on the pace so a testament to the feeder series for how well they prepare drivers for F1.
“I think the crazy thing was how hard you can push, especially those last 10 laps when I had the guys behind on softs.
“I was basically doing quali lap after quali lap. It required a lot of precision with the walls close like this but I loved every moment - it was fantastic.”
Bearman is unsure if he will be back in the car for the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.
“Carlos is looking well so I am glad he’s having a good recovery. In the end, it’s not my decision to make,” he added.
“If he feels good and I hope he does then he will be in the car in Melbourne. At the end it’s his car, it’s his championship. I hope the best for him.”
