Ferrari Reserve Drive Oliver Bearman has been back behind the Maranello-based squad’s 2022 challenger, the F1-75, days after his Formula 1 Grand Prix debut in Saudi Arabia.
Following Carlos Sainz having to drop out of last weekend’s proceedings due to appendicitis, Ferrari called upon Bearman on Friday morning and the 18-year-old Englishman made his F1 bow in FP3.
From there he went into qualifying and narrowly missed out on a top-10 spot on the grid before converting 11th to a seventh-place finish in Saturday’s GP, drawing plenty of praise for his exploits.
Now returning to the F1-75 in Fiorano on Wednesday, Bearman has credited his Reserve Driver programme with helping him have such a strong debut in Jeddah.
“I think going through all the procedures was quite easier than I expected [in Jeddah], mainly because we practised them so many times on the simulator, which is a huge testament to the simulator at Ferrari,” Bearman said.
“That shows that the hard work has been paying off back in the factory.
“It’s been very useful to use the simulator.
“First of all, I did a lot of preparation for Jeddah anyway, to try and help the team.
“By the time I actually jumped on track, it was a seamless transition, almost. I was pretty much straight up to speed.
“Also, having driven the 2022 Ferrari in Barcelona and even the 2021 car in Fiorano, I was able to get up to speed quickly, because the speed wasn’t a surprise.
“I think if it was the first time ever in an F1 car, I would have been struggling a bit more. The hard work behind the scenes has paid off.”
In addition to taking part in Ferrari’s previous car testing programme in the F1-75, Bearman will take part in six FP1 sessions with Haas throughout the year.
Head of Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy Jock Clear speaks of the importance a combined practice session and testing of 2022 ground effect cars for young driver development.
“Nowadays the opportunity to go track testing is very tough and the regulations are such that we don’t have the opportunity to give these young drivers plenty of time on track,” said Clear.
“It is a big step from an F2 car to an F1 car and Ollie has had that opportunity with previous cars, we’ve run him in Barcelona, we’ve run him in Fiorano, he’s obviously done the end of season Abu Dhabi tests with us, so not a huge amount of time in the car but enough for him to get familiar.
“That’s been the focus on any track testing we’ve given Ollie over the last year is to make sure that he’s aware of what’s important on the day and again I think we’ve been vindicated in that education, in that the basics were there at the weekend, the start, the pit stop, all the radio comms.
“You’ve all seen how busy a Formula 1 steering wheel is and Ollie managed that very very well so those basics are what he got over the last couple of opportunities in the car either at Fiorano and Barcelona.
“Driving fast that’s just natural, that’s talent, he can do that every day of the week but actually operating an F1 car in the heat of the moment I think really is a testament to his education over the last couple of years.”
