Ollie Bearman’s white-hot debut has F1’s old guard fearing for their futures
Welcome back Ollie Bearman. Or something like that. Bearman’s return to the more familiar setting of Formula Two after his stellar F1 debut for Ferrari in Jeddah was the equivalent of a cold bath. The 18-year-old Briton was 11th, a second off the pace, in practice and almost two seconds off Dennis Hauger’s pole time in Melbourne.
Albert Park is a quirky, street layout, just the kind of track to snap a hot shot out of his reverie. Bearman would have been chastened by an experience that contrasted so sharply with the highs of Saudi Arabia, where he took F2 pole before being whisked along the F1 carousel as replacement for Carlos Sainz.
To compound his difficulties, Bearman’s freakishly gifted team-mate, 17-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli, qualified in second after posting the third fastest time out of the box in practice. Antonelli, you might recall, was the name that popped up in the conversation when Lewis Hamilton announced his departure for Ferrari next year. Unless the unresolved Red Bull rumpus forces Max Verstappen into a dramatic U-turn on his Melbourne pledge to stay put, the wind at Antonelli’s back is unlikely to lose its force.
It will be hard for Bearman to make an impact in Saturday’s F2 sprint race from 16th on the grid. The lack of running in Jeddah after a disappointing opening race in Bahrain, where Prema struggled to get the tyres to work, plus the mind-bending disruption of his Jeddah immersion appears to have compromised Bearman’s effort here.
Luckily he is in the sympathetic hands of a team principal, Rene Rosin, who knows the territory and has deep experience of guiding youthful talent.
“Last year he was one of the best rookies [F2]. And we were not surprised. Jumping in Friday morning into the F1 car just before FP3 – looking at what he has done, he has done a mega job,” Rosin said.
“But now his mindset needs to come back to F2. The year in F2 will be a tough season. We lost points in Bahrain, we lost the weekend in Saudi, but everything is still possible, we just need to concentrate – once again, as we always say – race by race, and try to maximise the results.”
Perhaps the seven-week hiatus before the fourth round of the F2 season at Imola in May will help restore Bearman’s equilibrium. That said, he remains the reserve driver at Ferrari and Maranello’s customer team Haas, and will therefore travel to the next three F1 races in China, Japan and the United States.
Bumps in the road were anticipated by the present incumbents at Haas, whose reactions to Bearman’s white-hot debut were cooler than others in the paddock. Since at least one of Kevin Magnussen or Nico Hulkenburg is expected to vacate his seat for Bearman, the tone of self-preservation/promotion in their commentary is understandable.
This was the view expressed by Hulkenberg, which turned out to be eerily prescient, when asked if he were in a race with Magnussen to retain his seat.
“I think it’s very early, way too early to say that. I think he’s got a big job on his hands in F2 first of all, because otherwise if he’s not doing well there the Jeddah race is going to be forgotten in two days. You know how this business works.
“So I think quite a bit of pressure on him to deliver now in F2, actually. He was in the second-best car after all, and you see how powerful and how valuable that is, and what kind of difference that makes. So obviously, in a way, a bit tough for everyone else in the midfield, and for us, to see that. But that’s how it is. But of course, as always, if you get an opportunity, you have to make it work, and he did that in Jeddah 100 per cent.”
Magnussen, whilst offering qualified support for Bearman, was keen to bang the drum for experience and maintaining the status quo.
“I think looking at him as a young guy racing, I can relate to where he is in his career and in his life. So I hope all the best for him of course,” he said.
There is, however, always a “but”.
“Nico is a very, very competent team-mate. I think we have a very good dynamic in the team, we’re working really well together.
“I think that the journey that we’re on as a team, I think it’s helpful having experienced drivers. I think we’ve just got to make the maximum of what we have right now with the two drivers and the car we have, which I think is going alright.”
At 36, Hulkenberg is arguably most at risk. Having been released by Renault at the end of 2019, he served as an emergency replacement at Racing Point in 2020 and was reserve driver when the team became Aston Martin in 2021 before being handed the seat at Haas in 2022.
F1 is desperate for new stories and Bearman was all of that in Saudi. Moreover he has six free practice outings scheduled with Haas this season as well as his reserve driver duties. Melbourne did not start well but the trajectory is clear. Bearman will be in F1 sooner rather than later.
