Rising star reveals 40-page document held key to F1 promotion

Oliver Bearman in the Haas car during FP1 in Mexico. — Photo: © LAT Images

F1 News & Gossip

Rising star reveals 40-page document held key to F1 promotion

Oliver Bearman discusses his F1 debut at Mexico and Abu Dhabi

Anna Malyon

Saturday 16 December 2023 17:57

Ferrari academy and Formula 2 rookie driver Oliver Bearman has revealed a crucial document that played a pivotal role in securing his Formula 1 drive.

In his debut F2 season, Bearman secured a sixth-place finish in the drivers' championship, drawing attention from key figures in the F1 paddock.

At the age of 18, he made his F1 debut with Haas during the Mexican and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekends, participating in FP1 sessions.

A lot to learn

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Despite his impressive performances in the F2 season, the young British driver credited a specific document as vital in securing his F1 drive.

“The document for learning the F1 car was 30 or 40 pages long, so there’s a lot of stuff for me to learn, some stuff I still don’t know but the main things were covered,” Bearman said to the Formula 1 website. “I was pretty good with all the switch changes and that sort of stuff.

“We've been working really hard together, and we covered a lot of important miles for the team. There wasn’t a lot of time on the F1 weekend to test so they were doing a lot of work with me on Tuesday during the post-season test also.

“I probably underestimated the challenge of doing that in one day but coming back for the first day of the post-season test, I was straight on the pace because I knew what to look out for.”

Oliver Bearman made his F1 debut in the 2023 season

Oliver Bearman took part in his F2 rookie season in 2023

“Busiest year of my life”

Bearman also shared insights into managing the demands of driving in both F2 and F1 sessions, along with participating in testing for Ferrari projects.

“It's definitely been the busiest year of my life in terms of balancing things,” added Bearman.

“I've been super busy on the simulator and, of course, doing some F1 driving at the end of the year alongside my full F2 campaign, so it's been a busy one. But I won't complain. I will never complain about being busy.

“It's been a great year. Tough to manage everything, but I'm kind of getting used to it and it's only going to continue like that. So, a year like this was needed. It's necessary to be able to adapt.”

Bearman finished with his view that an F1 car represents the "pinnacle," of motorsport as he looks forward to more opportunities in the future.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Haas Mexican Grand Prix Oliver Bearman Formula 2