"Too many mistakes, too much time wasted": Bearman disillusioned in the Brazilian rain

With this third Grand Prix in his pocket in Brazil, Oliver Bearman is officially no longer a rookie in the eyes of the Formula 1 and the FIA ​​(two GP maximum for a driver to be considered a rookie, according to the regulations). The fact remains that the Briton still has a lot to learn in the premier class! For the third time this season, the future holder at Haas in 2025 was called at short notice to replace a driver. As in Baku, the Englishman took over the seat of Kevin Magnussen, sick in São Paulo.

A third Grand Prix this season, this time with a major feature: rain! Oliver Bearman took his first laps behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car on a wet track, in an official session on Sunday. A baptism of fire and a quick adaptation, with qualifying pushed back to Sunday morning, just a few hours before the Grand Prix. Although he managed to survive without crashing out in qualifying despite being eliminated in Q1 (while beating his teammate, all the same), the Briton had a much more laborious race...

From the first laps, Ollie Bearman made contact with Guanyu-Zhou then with Franco Colapinto – the second earned him a spin and a 10-second penalty. Then the Briton tried to drive in hellish conditions in pouring rain. “How are we allowed to race like this? Someone is going to crash! Talk to the FIA, it’s really dangerous. I’m trying not to die " shouted the English driver into his radio, before the Safety Car and then the red flag were deployed.

Bearman has "learned a lot" under the rain

On the restart, the #50 made a mistake before the Safety Car had even fully cleared… then hit the wall on the outside of Turn 6 three laps later, damaging his front wing in the process. The final result: a rather improbable and flattering 12th place given the number of mistakes made by the 19-year-old driver. “The race was tough, he summarizes. I made too many mistakes, which really compromised our race. On the one hand, we finished 12th, quite close to the points, despite the number of mistakes I made. On the other hand, there were too many mistakes, too much time loss and things like that. It was a really difficult day.

Despite this laborious experience, Oliver Bearman recognizes having "learned a lot" with a view to 2025, when he will be associated with Esteban Ocon…who signed a podium in the rain, Sunday in Brazil. A beneficial and essential ride in his preparation to become a regular driver at Haas next year. “First of all, I got to know the track, which I wouldn’t have been able to do until next year. Every lap in the wet is really valuable and I managed to do a lot of them today, so I’m pretty happy.”, puts the Briton into perspective, who certainly did not expect, at the start of the year, to compete in three Grands Prix in 2024!

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