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Oliver Bearman’s sudden Formula 1 debut at the weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix continues to shift the driver market landscape.
The 18-year-old was on an uncertain road towards Formula 1 after his first inconclusive season in Formula 2 last year, but his sterling job substituting for the Scuderia appears to have put him back into the fast lane.
While F2 remains his main mission for the year, the talented Briton is set to appear in as many as a third of grand prix weekends this season in preparation for an increasingly presumed 2025 full-time debut.
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Fallout from Saudi Arabia continues further down the grid too, with RB deeply unhappy with Haas’s points-getting tactics in Jeddah and calling for a broader discussion about penalties.
Elsewhere, Aussie rising star Jack Doohan is looking forward to the opportunity to get on track at Albert Park in a unique collaboration with his legendary father Mick.
OLLIE BEARMAN WINS FERRARI FP1 DRIVES AFTER SAUDI STUNNER
Oliver Bearman will have two FP1 sessions with Ferrari added to his 2024 program after his sensational last-minute debut in Saudi Arabia.
Ferrari reserve driver Bearman substituted for Carlos Sainz in Jeddah after the Spaniard was diagnosed with appendicitis and rushed to hospital for surgery.
The Briton got the call-up to the seat just a few hours before final practice but went on to qualify 11th later than day.
He finished a strong and assured seventh in the race, holding off the fast-finishing Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in the final laps.
Bearman had already been confirmed for an unusually high six FP1 appearances at Haas for 2024, but Ferrari boss Frédéric Vasseur said the Scuderia would field Bearman in an additional two sessions before the end of the season after his excellent debut.
“The fact he did a short weekend without FP1, FP2, without any mistakes, for me it’s unrealistic,” Vasseur said, per Racer. “Honestly, I was completely impressed by this.
“He did well this weekend. He will have other challenges in front of him in the future with F2. He will do a couple of FP1s with us and Haas in the season.
“We know if he continues with the same approach [as Jeddah], he will do well.”
Every team must devote at least two practice sessions to rookies each season.
Ferrari fielded 2019 F3 champion and 2021 F2 runner-up Robert Shwartzman as its rookie last season.
Bearman instead completed two sessions with Haas, where he earnt high praise from now team principal Ayao Komatsu.
But the Briton appears to have jumped the Ferrari junior queue ahead of Shwartzman with his stunning Saudi performance, and he’s now widely tipped to take one of the American team’s seats in 2025.
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RB ROPEABLE AFTER ‘UNSPORTING’ HAAS TACTICS SCORE POINT
RB racing director Alan Permane wants discussions with the FIA about Kevin Magnussen’s “unsportsmanlike behaviour” at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Magnussen copped a 10-second penalty for overtaking Tsunoda off the track at the second chicane on lap 17.
The Dane attempted to outbrake the Japanese driver from the inside line but ran wide, cutting the corner but keeping the place.
It was Magnussen’s second 10-second penalty of the race, having also been penalised for causing a collision with Alex Albon.
The dual penalties ruined Magnussen’s race, but Haas salvaged the situation by deploying him to hold up the cars behind to facilitate a late pit stop by teammate Nico Hülkenberg.
The Tsunoda pass moved Magnussen up to net 11th place. By crawling as much as two seconds per lap off the pace, he delayed the bottom half of the field by more than 20 seconds, enough for Hülkenberg to make a pit stop and retain 10th place, scoring one point.
The situation frustrated Permane, who considered the tactics unfair.
“That to me doesn’t seem correct and is the very definition of unsportsmanlike behaviour,” he said, per Autosport. “I’m sure we and other teams will talk to the FIA about it for future races.”
Team principal Laurent Mekies took a similarly dim view of the incident.
“Yuki was fighting for what could have been a P10 finish,” he said. “The penalty imposed on Magnussen [was] meaningless, as it destroyed Yuki’s race.”
Haas boss Ayao Komatsu admitted that Magnussen should have given the place back but believed he had the pace to have finished ahead on merit anyway.
The FIA doubled the penalty for passing off the track this year to 10 seconds after complaints that some drivers were building the penalty into their decision-making when overtaking slower cars.
Piastri powers to fourth in Saudi Arabia | 01:44
DOOHAN AND DOOHAN DEMO SET FOR MELBOURNE
Jack Doohan will share the Albert Park Circuit with father Mick Doohan for the first time at next weekend’s Australian Grand Prix in a demonstration program that will bring together the worlds of four and two wheels.
Jack, who is Alpine’s full-time reserve driver this year, will get behind the wheel of the V10 Benetton B200, the Enstone-designed podium getter that competed in the 2000 season.
Mick, the legendary five-time 500cc motorcycle world champion, will ride a production Honda RCV213 in celebration of his first title in 1994.
The father-son pair will hit the track together three times over the weekend, with two demonstration on Saturday and a third on Sunday.
“I’m so excited to be on track with my dad in Albert Park during the Australian Grand Prix weekend,” Doohan said. “It’s actually the first time we have shared a track together with me in a car and him on a bike, so that will be an incredibly special moment.
“It’s a great opportunity to celebrate his success in front of the Australian fans, and for me it’s a unique opportunity to drive a Formula 1 car around such an iconic track. Hopefully next year it will be the real thing! That’s my target, and I’m working hard to achieving my ultimate dream.”
Mick said the opportunity to share the circuit with his son would be a personal highlight.
“Time does go by so quickly, as now I’m going to be on track with my son, which will be a truly special moment for both of us,” he said. “I continue to support Jack and support his career endeavours working towards the goal of racing in Formula 1.”
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