Formula 2
From taking F2 pole on Friday to driving for Ferrari on Saturday: Oliver Bearman’s unexpected F1 debut.
Oliver Bearman qualified on Pole for in Formula 2 on Friday, little did he know he won’t be driving an F2 car that weekend anymore.
Sainz called in sick and skipped media duties on Wednesday. He later arrived at the track on Thursday to take part in practice sessions, describing it as the toughest day he’s had in an F1 car. On Friday, it was confirmed that Sainz had been diagnosed with appendicitis that required surgery, meaning he would sit out the rest of the weekend. The 18-year-old Bearman was informed hours before the third practice session that he would be driving Sainz’s Ferrari for the rest of the weekend.
Subscribed
Bearman wasn’t a stranger to F1 machinery, having done two FP1 sessions with Haas last year, which impressed quite a lot of people, as well as a test in an older spec Ferrari in Fiorano.
“He drove the old car a couple of months ago, and he did very well,” commented Vasseur. “Last year he did two FP1 sessions with us in Mexico, and I don’t remember the other one. He did a good job on those too.”
Who’s Oliver Bearman?
Born on May 8, 2005, in Chelmsford, Essex, Bearman’s racing journey began with karting at the age of eight. Within his first year, he secured a top-five finish in the British Karting GP, marking the start of a successful trajectory. Bearman transitioned to single-seater racing in 2020, competing in ADAC F4 and Italian F4 with US Racing scoring victories in both categories alongside some podiums. In 2021, with Van Amersfoort Racing, he claimed both titles, winning 17 races during the campaign.
At the end of 2021, Bearman joined the Ferrari Driver Academy and moved up to Formula 3 with PREMA Racing. In his sole F3 season, he finished third, securing a sprint race victory in Belgium. This performance earned him promotion to Formula 2. Making his F2 debut in 2023 with PREMA Racing, Bearman had a strong campaign with four victories, including three feature race wins, and finished 6th in the drivers’ championship.
In October of the same year, he had his first experience in an F1 car, testing a 2021-spec Ferrari at Fiorano in Italy. The test mileage allowed Bearman to participate in two FP1 sessions for Haas in Mexico and Abu Dhabi.
“I don’t think you can fault him. He’s done really well. All the way from the initial preparation, he’s been very professional, very, very easy to deal with in every single process. I have nothing to complain [about],” said Ayao Komatsu, the then Trackside Engineering Director of Haas, prior to his recent promotion to Team Principal.
Bearman’s F1 Debut
Bearman started his F1 debut with a strong FP3 performance. He finished 10th, completing the most laps out of anyone on the grid, which shouldn’t come as a surprise as he needed as much track time as possible to prepare for his debut. He narrowly missed out on a Q3 appearance in his first ever F1 qualifying, finishing P11 in Q2, getting knocked out by fellow Brit and 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton by just 0.036s.
“I woke up this morning focusing on my F2 race, starting P10, trying to think, how can we maximize that. And then at some stage, it was clear that I had to get in the F1 car. “What a great opportunity, of course, huge best wishes for Carlos and his recovery. But it’s a great moment and opportunity for me, and I’m ready to maximize it. A bit disappointed with the qualifying, but overall I can’t be too disappointed.
“It was so close, so close,” he added of the margin to Q3. “That’s why it hurts a bit more. I made a mistake on my first push [lap], so I had to do it on my second, and the tires aren’t really the best there, so my mistake and I’ll take that on the chin.”
Asked about his goals for his maiden Grand Prix, Bearman said: “Just bring the car back. Try and get some points, that would be a bonus, but build up my mileage, get some experience. It’s my first race, so I can’t expect much, and this is a really difficult track as well.”
Bearman made up four places to finish in 7th, scoring 6 points on his Formula 1 debut. But the points didn’t come easy as the young driver was left ‘physically destroyed’. The 18-year-old faced pressure from the threat of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton behind on fresher tires, but he ultimately held on to claim P7 and was also voted as the Driver of the Day.
“Destroyed. Physically it was a really difficult race! Especially in the end, when I had the two guys on soft behind me, I had to basically push flat out and it was a mentally difficult race as expected, and physically I was struggling too, but great fun out there.” said Bearman.
What’s next for the teenager?
An impressive performance in Jeddah could put Bearman on the radar of some teams, as most driver contracts are expiring this year.
“Yeah perhaps, but the most important [thing is], you know perfectly that the result of today will be behind us in a couple of weeks, and that he will have to be focused on the F2 because he has a huge challenge in front of him.
“This weekend cost him also a lot because he was supposed to start from pole in F2, it means to come back into the championship will be a challenge, but he will have the occasion to do some FP1 this year.” said Vassuer on wether bearman could find himself in any of the Ferrari powered teams.
At Haas, where Bearman will be joining the team for some more FP1 outings this season, Team Principal Ayao Komatsu was equally impressed by his performance. When asked if this puts him on the team’s radar for 2025 Komatsu said: “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.”
Formula 2
Kush Maini wins in Hungary: Formula 2 Round 9 Review
Explore the top storylines from an action-packed Formula 2 weekend in Hungary, including Kush Maini’s first win, Kimi Antonelli’s strategy triumph, and championship rivals’ struggles.
The weekend at Hungary was action-packed, just as you would expect Formula 2 to be. The championship rivals had a bad outing, giving everyone else a chance to catch up to them. While Kush Maini scored his first in F2. Here are the top talking points from Hungary.
Kush Maini is Finally a Race Winner in F2
Kush Maini finally became a race winner in Formula 2. After qualifying P9 for the feature race, Maini would start the sprint race on the reverse grid front row. Verschoor was on Pole and was starting on hard tyres, just like Kush. At the start, both Maini and Verschoor got off the line well, but Kimi Antonelli who was starting on softs got past them. Maini, in P3, kept piling the pressure on Verschoor in P2. Eventually, Antonelli’s Softs ran out of rubber and a lock-up from him helped Verschoor and Maini get past the Prema driver. Maini finished in P2 behind Verschoor, but a post-race disqualification meant the Indian driver was promoted to the top step.
Kush Maini scored valuable points in the Feature Race, starting from P9 on the alternate strategy and finishing P7. He took home 16 points from Hungary, marking his tied second-best weekend in terms of points.
Kimi Antonelli wins the Feature Race on the alternative strategy.
Kimi had a weekend full of gambles in Hungary. In the Sprint Race, Kimi gambled to start on Softs while the majority were on Hards. The gamble didn’t pay off as his tyres wore off before the end of the race and he had to pit for fresh rubber. In the Feature Race, Kimi again gambled on the alternative strategy. This time, however, it worked perfectly. Two Safety Car interventions helped Kimi utilize his alternative strategy perfectly.
Making use of his fresh Softs while everyone ahead of him was on old Hards, Kimi Antonelli took his first Feature Race victory in Formula 2.
Bad outing for Championship rivals
Both Championship rivals had a tough weekend in Hungary. The championship leader Isack Hadjar left Hungary with just 7 points. Finishing 4th in the Sprint Race, he was then promoted to P3 following Verschoor’s disqualification. In the Feature Race, Hadjar who was supposed to start from P3 was going to start from the pitlane instead. The Campos driver failed to leave the pits in time before the pit lane closed. After that, there wasn’t much Hadjar could do and he finished the race 18th.
His closest rival Paul Aron scored a combined 5 points during the weekend. The weekend started well for Aron, scoring the pole position for the Feature Race. This meant he’d start P10 for the reverse grid Sprint Race. He climbed up 3 spots to finish P7, later getting promoted to P6. In the Feature Race, Aron got a poor launch off the line, and then a huge lockup into turn 1 dropped him down to seventh. On Lap 7, Aron went into the back of Zane Maloney, causing both drivers to spin into a stop.
This gave other drivers to close some gap to the top. Gabriel Bortoleto currently sits P3 in the standings, 30 points shy of the top.
Everything to play for in the Teams’ Championship
The top three teams in the Formula 2 championship are separated by only nine points. Invicta Racing enjoying a good weekend to climb to the top of the standings.
Next Up
Formula 2 heads to Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for Round 10 of the championship. You can watch all the sessions live on F1TV and Fancode.
Follow Desi Racing Co. to never miss an update from the world of Motorsports.
Budapest hosts Formula 2 for Round 9 of the championship. The Hungaroring will be first stop of the double header before we head to the summer break. Here are DRC’s top 5 storylines heading into Budapest.
Read the Round 8 review here.
Hadjar will look to maintain his championship lead.
Hadjar has finally regained the championship lead that he lost to Paul Aron earlier in the season. In the last 6 Feature Races, Hadjar has 3 wins and 2 more podiums to his name. His worst result in those feature races was a fifth place finish in Barcelona.
Hadjar is currently 16 points ahead of second placed Paul Aron in the championship. The campos driver will be looking to extend this lead over the double header.
Aron looking to make a comeback after a disappointing Silverstone
Paul Aron went into Silverstone hoping to end his winless streak in Formula 2. Things didn’t go as planned and he failed to score a single point in Silverstone. Having scored a podium in each of the seven opening rounds, not scoring a point in the eighth round was disappointing. This resulted in Aron losing his championship lead to rival Isack Hadjar.
The Hitech driver will look to bounce back in Hungary. With just 16 points adrift of the top, a solid weekend can close that gap down. The results in Silverstone being majorly affected by his spin in qualifying. However, he was on provisional pole before the spin and showed good pace in the races as well. Aron will definitely be the one to watch as he now hunts for his first win and also the championship lead.
Zane Maloney looking to build on Silverstone success
Even though Maloney didn’t get a win in Silverstone, but 2 podiums in both races meant he had his second best weekend of the season so far. The Rodin driver won both races in Bahrain, getting a start people could only dream of. But, the form dipped with the Bajan scoring only 1 podium in the next 6 weekends. Silverstone was a turn in form with Maloney scoring two P2 finishes.
The solid weekend in Silverstone has put Maloney P3 in the championship standings. Coming into Budapest, Maloney will look to build on his success from last round.
Maini will look to turn his mixed weekends into solid ones
The Indian driver has scored 2 podiums in the last 3 rounds. But the performance is still far off from what people expected out of him. Having challenged for race wins and pole positions at the start of the year, that form has seen a dip since Imola. It was reported that he had a cracked chassis in Imola and Monaco. In Spain he had a brand new chassis and the form improved. Ever since then it has been a mixed bag of results.
Heading into Hungary, the Indian driver will be looking to put it all together and have a solid weekend. Hungaroring is also the track where Maini scored his first and only Formula 3 podium.
Teams’ title fight heating up
The 2024 Formula 2 teams’ title fight is intensely competitive, with Campos Racing currently leading by 23 points. Rodin Motorsport initially dominated, but their momentum waned, allowing teams like Hitech Pulse-Eight and MP Motorsport to close in. The top five teams are closely matched, with only 51 points separating them. As the season progresses, the standings are expected to remain volatile, setting the stage for a thrilling conclusion. With numerous races left, including unpredictable circuits like Baku and Lusail, the title fight is far from over.
Schedule and Where to Watch.
You can watch Formula 2 live in India on F1TV and Fancode. The full weekend schedule is as follows.
Formula 2
Isack Hadjar Retakes Championship Lead: Formula 2 Round 8
Isack Hadjar retook the championship lead in Silverstone. The Frenchman scored a pole and the Feature Race win to get back on top.
Isack Hadjar took pole and a win in Silverstone to retake the Formula 2 championship lead in Silverstone. Here are the storylines from the weekend.
Disaster Weekend for Paul Aron
Paul Aron coming to Silverstone had a podium each round, this streak ended in Silverstone. Not only did he fail to score a podium, but he also didn’t score any points at all. The Estonian driver qualified P12 after making an error and spinning out with 10 minutes left in the session. This left him with major flat spots while everyone else improved their times. In the Sprint Race Aron collided with Martí and it left both out of the race. In the Feature Race, Aron finished outside the points in P12. Having lost his Championship lead, Aron would be looking to take it back in Hungary.
Hadjar gets the Pole and a Win
Isack Hadjar had a mixed weekend but most of it was on the good side. Qualifying on Pole, Hadjar started the Sprint race in P10. The Campos driver beached his car on lap 8 straight into Copse. The next day in the feature race Hadjar had a bad start starting from pole and fell back. Hadjar then drove brilliantly to come back into the race and was running P2 behind Crawford. A 5s time penalty for Crawford meant Hadjar who was only 2.5s behind would take the victory after the penalty was applied.
Heading into Budapest as the championship leader, Hadjar would look to extend his lead on top.
“Race winner on Sunday, unfortunately not on track like we wanted. But still, it was a really fun race with lots going on and I managed to bring those points home. Already looking forward to Budapest.”
Isack Hadjar after the feature race
Zane Maloney takes Double Podium
Maloney didn’t get any race wins but scored 2 crucial podium finishes to climb up to 3rd in the championship standings. An uneventful sprint race as Maloney started P2 and finished P2 as well. The Feature Race however was anything but uneventful. The Bajan driver had a great start to move up 3 places. He then went on to manage his tyres and pace well to finish P2 after Crawford’s penalty. After scoring 0 points last weekend, Maloney would be happy to bounce back with two P2s.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli gets his first win.
The Mercedes Junior was having a lackluster season in Formula 2, delivering performances below everyone’s expectations of him. The prime candidate for the Mercedes seat, he had to step up to show everyone that he deserved the seat. Having started from the reverse grid pole in the Sprint Race, Kimi excelled in mixed conditions to finish P1.
“Got my first win, really happy with the result. It was a difficult race in difficult conditions, but we managed pretty well and I’m really happy to bring home the first win of the season.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelly
The feature race ended early for the Italian after being sent into a spin by Kush Maini on the opening lap. An overall decent weekend and the Sprint Race victory will only motivate him to push for being constantly at the front.
Mixed weekend for Kush Maini
The Indian driver had another mixed weekend in Silverstone, similar to what he had in Austria one week back. The pace was looking strong for Maini in qualifying, but traffic hampered his final push lap resulting in him qualifying P8. On the reverse grid for the Sprint Race, Maini started P3 and finished P3 too, but the race was not as simple as it looks like. The Alpine junior driver was holding position in mixed conditions after being under constant pressure from his teammate. On the last lap, Bortoleto made a move on Maini on the last corner, overtaking him to finish P3. Later on the stewards deemed the move illegal, as Bortoleto overtook outside the track. This resulted in Maini getting back the 3rd place.
In the feature race, Maini tapped Kimi from behind, sending the Prema driver into a spin and giving Maini damage. This forced Maini to make an early pit stop. After that, the race was pretty much uneventful for the Indian who crossed the finish line in P19. Maini also got a 10s time penalty for the opening lap incident, but that didn’t affect his finishing position.
Championship Standings
Isack Hadjar moves to the top of the Championship ahead of Paul Aron, 133 points to 117. Zane Maloney improved his position in third, now on 101 points with Gabriel Bortoleto fourth on 98. Franco Colapinto is P5 on 92 points.
In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing lead with 171 points ahead of MP Motorsport in second on 158. Invicta Racing are just two points back in third position, while Hitech Pulse-Eight and Rodin Motorsport round out the top five with 142 and 120 points respectively.
Formula 2 will take a week off and head to Budapest for Round 9 of the championship from July 19-21.
DTM Red Bull Ring: Arjun Maini’s best weekend with Pole and 2 Podiums
Max Verstappen – A silent protest against the FIA
MotoGP 2024: MotoGP back at Misano for exciting weekend
MotoGP 2024: Marquez wins back-to-back in Magical Misano
Indian Racing Festival 2024: Indian Motorsport shines in the beautiful night
Monza GP: F1 back at the Cathedral of Speed
Indian Motorsports5 months agoMIC to host Indian Racing League and Indian F4 in 2024.
- Formula 14 months ago
Spanish Grand Prix 2024: European triple-header kicks off at Circuit de-Catalunya Barcelona
- Formula 15 months ago
F1 Revival in South East Asia: Racing Returns?
- Indian Motorsports3 months ago
Sourav Ganguly becomes owner of Kolkata Royal Tigers
- Formula 15 months ago
Canadian GP 2024 Preview: Can Red Bull Rebound Against Surging Ferrari and McLaren?
- Formula 13 months ago
GIFT City’s Formula 1 Racetrack Plans Hit a Roadblock
- WEC4 months ago
Driving Change: The Inspiring Journey of Iron Dames in Motorsport
- MotoGP4 months ago
TT Assen – Bagnaia’s masterclass in the Netherlands
Pingback: Kush Maini completes first test in a Formula 1 car - Desi Racing Co
Pingback: F1 Driver Market: Understanding The Domino Effect - Desi Racing Co