Haas, Ferrari’s partner, does not plan to name Oliver Bearman as a starter so quickly

Oliver Bearman replaced Carlos Sainz from the third free practice session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after the Spaniard required an emergency appendectomy. The official reserve driver since 2024, he is already well prepared within the Prancing Horse team. Especially by driving several times with past season F1 cars or even during the young driver tests in Abu Dhabi a few months ago.

Despite having had only one hour of testing on a fast and challenging circuit to master, the 18-year-old was immediately up to speed and almost reached Q3, finishing just 36 thousandths behind 10th place (Lewis Hamilton).

Starting from 11th place on the grid, he battled with drivers like Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hülkenberg to finish seventh, also impressing with a strong and consistent second half of the race where his lap times even improved as he gained confidence in the car.

Bearman made his first outings behind the wheel of an F1 car during a Grand Prix weekend last year, completing two free practice 1 sessions for Haas in Mexico and Abu Dhabi. He later tested with Ferrari during the post-season young driver tests. This led him to become a reserve driver for Ferrari and Haas for the 2024 season.

Asked about the performance of young British driver Bearman in Jeddah, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu replied: « Incredible. »

Translate: « This circuit is not the easiest to dive into the FP3. So I am very, very happy for him and he has been impressive. »

Finding him a bucket has not been done yet.

Komatsu acknowledged that Bearman deserves a full-time seat in F1 in 2025, but stressed that it is far from certain that the young driver will get this opportunity with Haas.

In Saudi Arabia, Kevin Magnussen put in a tough defensive race that allowed his teammate Nico Hülkenberg to secure Haas’ first point of the season by finishing 10th.

In the context of these performances, Komatsu felt that it would be very unfair to present Bearman as his future driver and stated that he would be happy to stay with his current lineup for now.

He deserves a chance next year, I suppose, replied Komatsu when asked about the message sent by Bearman to the entire paddock.

« Even if we put the penalty aside, Kev [Kevin Magnussen] was fantastic today. Nico also delivered. So how can I sit here and say, ‘he’s our driver for next year’? »

« Based on today’s performance, it’s Nico and Kevin. »

Komatsu added that he was not too surprised by Bearman’s performance after the Prema driver in F2 also impressed him when he worked with Haas.

« Of course, we made him run in Mexico in free practice 1 and in Abu Dhabi, and it was immediately obvious to me and most of us that he is something special, » explained the Japanese engineer.

« It’s not just about the speed. It’s the whole package and it includes the objectives, it performs very well. Even during a session, it is able to absorb the information from the previous lap and make minor adjustments to improve the next lap. »

He showed maturity right away as if he had been doing this for a few years.

Oliver Bearman will travel to Melbourne next week to resume his campaign in F2 after missing the races in Jeddah due to his role as a reserve for Ferrari, but he will be available again in case Sainz has not fully recovered from his operation.

Ferrari’s boss, Fred Vasseur, stated that he was optimistic about Sainz’s return to the cockpit, after the Spaniard was discharged from the hospital and joined Ferrari in the garage the day after his operation to watch the Saturday Grand Prix. A final decision will be made before the start of track testing on Friday in Melbourne.