Latest Episode | Cut To The Race Podcast
Oliver Bearman is currently higher in the Formula 1 standings than he is in the Formula 2 standings.
Bearman on track during Formula 2 pre-season testing (Image Credit: @OllieBearman on X)Despite just competing in one Formula 1 weekend, filling in for Carlos Sainz at Ferrari, Bearman sits 12th in the standings with the six points he scored in Saudi Arabia.
In Formula 2, five rounds into the season, Bearman is only 13th in the standings.
He didn’t get his first points finish until the Melbourne Feature Race, after failing to score points in Bahrain and then missing both races in Saudi Arabia (where, to be fair, he did score points. Just not in Formula 2).
It hasn’t been the start to the season that anyone anticipated for the British driver, but that hasn’t stopped him from turning heads in the Formula 1 paddock. After his performance in Saudi Arabia and an appearance in Free Practice 1 in Imola, he’s been mentioned frequently in silly season rumours (most frequently connected with a seat at Haas).
Monaco weekend
Last weekend in Monaco, the PREMA Racing driver scored his best result of the season to date, a fourth-place finish in the Feature Race. He qualified sixth in Group B on Friday, putting him in 12th for the start of both races.
“I was pleased with how Monaco went on Sunday, apart from that it was a tough weekend,” Bearman said. “I missed one lap in Qualifying and since we only have three and the step that you make in driving and the step the track makes in performance, by missing a lap I was at the back of my group.
“So, it was a tough Sprint Race, it was really tough to do anything strategy-wise without a pitstop so Saturday was a bit of a boring one but on Sunday we managed to make a difference with the alternative strategy.
“We used the pace that we had and that was really nice to do, to finally bring a decent result because talking about the season so far nothing has really gone to plan. The first four rounds have been quite difficult for a number of reasons.
“We have showed a lot of potential, even in Imola I was leading in the Feature Race before it went wrong, Australia I had an issue in Qualifying and of course Jeddah never happened, so it’s been a bit of a strange start to the year. But hopefully now with the European season I can find some consistency and start to bring back some solid points.”
Looking ahead
Bearman is 62 points behind current championship leader Paul Aron. He’s also 30 points behind his rookie teammate, Kimi Antonelli.
It may feel like an insurmountable gap, but we’re less than halfway into the season. With nine rounds still to go before the end, there’s plenty of time for a driver, especially one with Bearman’s track record, to make up that gap.
Speaking about his season so far, Bearman commented: “We finally got a decent result to show for it, but the mood has been pretty high throughout because the pace has always been there,” he continued. “In Australia I was going for the front row again until I had an issue.
“In Imola, I was having a good race, so there have been a few little mistakes which have taken away some potential for good results, those need ironing out. I think we showed in Monaco that even with a bad quali at a track like Monaco we can still make something happen, so I have high hopes.
“It’s still a long Championship in front of us and at tracks we know, tracks that we were successful at last year for example so I have no reason in my mind why we can’t be fighting at the front for the rest of the year.
“That’s my main goal to prove what I am capable of and of course ultimately to prove that I have what it takes to be in F1.”
Feature Image Credit: James Sutton – Getty Images