Frederic Vasseur’s decision to add a third reserve driver to Ferrari ‘s stable in 2024 paid off big time in Saudi Arabia. Oliver Bearman , who is currently in his second F2 season filled in as a sub for Carlos Sainz at Jeddah as the latter was diagnosed with appendicitis and needed urgent surgery. Needless to say, Ollie left everyone impressed in the paddock with his flawless performance that saw him finish 7th in his F1 debut. But that was only possible because Vasseur added him as a third reserve driver despite having the services of Antonio Giovnazzi and Robert Shwartzman.

Despite the last-minute call, Bearman not only handled the pressure of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit but also earned 6 valuable points for Ferrari in the championship. Fred Vasseur praised Bearman’s calm demeanor amidst the intense pressure of his first F1 weekend. The Frenchman highlighted Bearman’s ability to focus on the task at hand, despite reminders of his young age and the significance of racing for Ferrari. But why was Antonio Giovinazzi not the first choice to replace the Spaniard?

Frederic Vasseur cites Ferrari’s Hypercar project as the reason to onboard Oliver Bearman

According to Vasseur, Giovinazzi and Shwartzman weren’t available for the race in Jeddah because they had returned to Italy after fulfilling their commitments in the WEC (World Endurance Championship). Learning from last year’s experiences with reserve drivers, Vasseur decided to increase the number of reserve pilots from two to three. Bearman was added to the roster following confirmation that Shwartzman would be driving Ferrari’s third Hypercar in 2024.

With both Shwartzman and Giovinazzi in the WEC, Ferrari needed another option, and the young British driver was apparently the best choice Ferrari had. ” I made the decision in winter because I found it a little stupid last year to ask Antonio to do 22 or even 24 races when I also had the LMH program. The Hypercar is quite important to us, a great challenge and I didn’t want Antonio and Schwartzman to travel with us the week after a race, as Qatar was for them,” Vasseur said as per Soymotor.com .

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” That’s why we decided that when Ollie is with us, he will be our reserve pilot. In the races in which he does not travel, he will work on the simulator. It is a good sign for him and in Melbourne and Imola he will be able to concentrate again on the Formula 2 project, which is the most important thing for him right now,” he added.

Lewis Hamilton Indirectly Declared Ferrari’s Number 1 by Frederic Vasseur

Bearman’s debut performance must surely have put him in the good graces of the teams for an F1 promotion in 2025. And Haas , being the customer team of Ferrari ought to be the most promising option for the 18-year-old.

Oliver Bearman’s prospective future team boss was also hugely impressed with the Brit

Ayao Komatsu , Team Principal of Haas, echoed Vasseur’s praise for the British driver, expressing his delight at Bearman’s impressive form. Komatsu highlighted Bearman’s skill set and confirmed that Bearman will participate in several FP1 sessions for Haas this season, indicating a bright future and possibly a race seat for the young driver at Haas.

When asked if Bearman has put himself front and center for a promotion to Formula 1, Komatsu told Formula 1, ” Yeah, absolutely. Last year when we had him in FP1 sessions in Mexico and Abu Dhabi, straight away it was obvious that he’s a total package. He’s so impressive, so I was very happy that we got him for six FP1s this year. [I’m] very happy for him.”

Will Haas be the interim destination for Oliver Bearman in Formula 1 as he bids his time for a race seat at Ferrari?