Ferrari star lauds Piastri as inspiration

Ferrari junior driver Oliver Bearman has said that he looks to Oscar Piastri’s extensive mileage in pre-F1 testing and his impressive debut season as inspiration, as he hopes to join the grid.

The 18-year-old is one of the brightest racing talents in the Ferrari Driver Academy, after securing four race wins and six podiums in his maiden season in F2, finishing sixth in the championship.

With him being expected to return to the category and challenge for the title in 2024, Bearman is looking to enter the conversation for an F1 seat come 2025.

He had a couple of FP1 appearances in 2023 with Haas in Mexico City and Abu Dhabi and also completed a test with Ferrari at their Fiorano Circuit as he looks to become accustomed to F1 machinery to meet his target.

Bearman looks to Piastri for breakthrough inspiration

It is becoming less frequent for F1 teams to decide to put their faith in rookie drivers on the grid, but Oscar Piastri has proved what can be possible in his debut season with McLaren.

The Australian completed multiple private tests in the old Alpine F1 car before joining McLaren for the 2023 F2 campaign, where impressed by finishing ninth in the standings and grabbing two podiums and a win in the Sprint race in Qatar, earning him the Rookie of the Year award.

Asked by PlanetF1.com about if Piastri was the benchmark for rookie preparation in F1, Bearman said: “Yeah, he showed that preparation is really important.

“Once you join F1 you’re going up against guys with a lot of races under their belt.

“Coming in as a rookie is a difficult job, so it’s something that we’ve thought about and it will be really important that before I start an F1 campaign, I need to be really prepared.

“Hopefully that looks like more FP1s and maybe some private testing as well. I don’t have any say on that. But in an ideal world that would be how I approach an F1 season.

“I know I’d be ready to go [for 2025], I know I have what it takes. Of course, preparation will be important. First of all, I have to do a good enough job to make that step one. But I have no doubt that if I get a call-up, I’m ready to go.”

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