Oliver Bearman made a significant impression on Haas trackside engineering director Ayao Komatsu as the Briton set the record books in his Formula One practice debut in Mexico City on Friday. The Ferrari-backed Formula Two driver, 18, stepped into race regular Kevin Magnussen’s VF-23 for the hour-long session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as part of a requirement for teams to give rookies track time.
A member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Bearman is a multi-time F2 race winner and is currently sixth in the championship standings with Prema Racing. The Briton has also won the 2021 German and Italian Formula 4 championships, establishing himself as one of motorsport’s brightest prospects.
Despite the highs and lows of a young career, Bearman has remained grounded and calm, admitting he is still learning daily. He is quick to recognize mistakes are a natural part of the process and that it is what you take away from them that counts.
That is precisely what happened in Mexico, as Bearman steered the American outfit to 15th, two-tenths down on Verstappen and three adrift of Mercedes’ Nico Hulkenberg. The Chelmsford-born driver also set the fastest lap of any rookie in FP1, proving his talent on the soft tire.
The session was disrupted by a mechanical problem with Magnussen’s car, but Haas quickly resolved the issue. The team had planned to run Bearman in the car for FP2 as well, but with the Dane’s car now ready, the American outfit opted to use it for the first session of the weekend.
“Oliver has done a fantastic job, and I am thrilled with his work,” said Komatsu. “He is a very professional driver who understands what he needs to do and how to do it, and he is a nice guy to work with.
This will not be the last FP1 session that Bearman will participate in with Haas this season, with the Briton slated to get behind the wheel of the VF-23 in both the Mexican and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix. This will allow the Ferrari junior to fulfill F1’s requirement that a rookie driver participate in FP1 at no less than two grand prix during the season.
Bearman will join the Haas line-up for FP1 in Abu Dhabi and a test drive at Ferrari’s home base at Italy’s Fiorano later this month.
With a strong race result in Mexico likely to see him close the gap on the top six in the championship standings, Bearman will be a man to watch at this weekend’s season finale in Brazil. The youngster will be hoping to emulate McLaren’s Lando Norris, who made his debut in practice at the same venue back in 2018 and went on to score a Grand Prix win in his first year as a full-time race driver.
