Ollie Bearman: Bearman’s F1 debut has long been anticipated, as he is undoubtedly one of the most promising young drivers of his generation in the junior single-seater division. However, it was not anticipated that he would make his debut at this early stage or under these conditions.
Due to Sainz’s case of appendicitis, Bearman will make his Formula One championship debut with Scuderia Ferrari, becoming the first British driver to do so since Eddie Irvine in 1999 and the first driver since Arturo Merzario in 1972 to do so.
Bearman’s open-wheel career stats
- 2020: 7th in German F4
- 2020: 10th in Italian F4 (part-time, 1 win)
- First in German F4 in 2021
- First place in Italian F4 in 2021
- 14th in GB3 in 2021 (part-time, one victory).
- 2022: 15th in Formula Regional Asian (part-time)
- 2022: 3rd in FIA F3
- 2023: 6th in FIA F2Bearman’s open-wheel career stats
Bearman, who was born in 2005, achieved considerable success in the British karting scene and international IAME competitions en route to single-seaters. In comparison to the WSK-organized international series or the CIK-FIA world and regional championships, this was a somewhat unusual path.
Bearman made the transition to open wheels during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, at the age of 15. Although he only managed a single victory in German F4 and Italian F4 during that inaugural year, he re-entered those two series in 2021 and emerged victorious both times.
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Seven of his victories in a row contributed to his Italian F4 championship campaign; nine more would have been possible if not for the exclusion of a technical infringement. He received a promotion to junior Ferrari in October of that year after the Ferrari Driver Academy held an evaluation event in Maranello.
Bearman subsequently decided to support Formula One by switching teams from Van Amersfoort Racing to Prema in the Formula 3 series.
He came perilously close to becoming the champion on his inaugural attempt. A red flag stopped the chaotic conclusion, leaving him seven points behind the top three.
Prema’s F2 debut was uneven but impressive. Despite inconsistent scoring, he won twice in Baku, a feat in F2 and GP2 given the reverse-grid format.
Bearman finished sixth that season and received two free practice sessions from Ferrari customer Haas. Each F1 team must give rookie drivers two sessions per season.
Bearman was offered a six-practice program with Haas in 2024 after performing well in both appearances, which was seen as a prelude to his 2025 Formula One promotion.
Now that Ferrari has assigned him the task of replacing Sainz in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, his chances of advancing to F1 are even greater after a disappointing start to his second F2 season with Prema in Bahrain.
Bearman recovered and won the F2 pole in Jeddah before giving it to Ferrari.
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