Bearman over delivers the poisoned gift

Debut in Formula 1 It’s the dream of every kid who starts karting and grows into motorsport category by category. And debut with Ferrari This is unimaginable. So the opportunity fell from the sky Oliver Bearman at the Saudi Arabia GP It was a gift of fate that I had to take advantage of. But logically it has its weaknesses.

The British driver was under pressure to become the third youngest driver in history 18 years and 10 months and the first to debut in Maranello colors since then Arturo Merzario in 1972. But pressure is something you have to deal with. What is a real disappointment is the tempos.

The Englishman took the F2 pole on Thursday but on Friday, before Free Practice 3, Ferrari announced that Sainz had appendicitis and had to undergo surgery. So Bearman had to change the chip overnight. He went from preparing F2 races to debuting SF-24 with the best. Without any kind of layout preparation Jeddah.

So the drastic changes indicated that it would be complicated, although Ferrari did not ask for any specific results. Only the cover letter should be up to par and that is not easy considering the demands of running for ‘Il Cavallino Rampante’.

Mission accomplished

But 48 hours later, we can say that he is more than delivered. The Englishman finished in seventh place ahead of important rivals such as Lewis Hamilton or Lando Norris. He didn’t get into trouble, he advanced without complicating his life and was able to cope with the destruction of hard rubber when he was pressed from behind.

“It was difficult to manage overtaking, I think today we all had problems with that DRS train. We had difficult moments when we caught Nico, he used his experience to avoid me, with all the batteries on straight.then i had two guys with me soft on my back and complicated, I had to push hard at the end” he said when he got out of the car.

Sensations clearly went from less to more throughout the weekend. In Free Practice 3 he had to learn the clock and in qualifying he was only one thousandths away from entering Q3 and seven tenths behind Leclerc. And in the race there was a final climax: six points and a great debut where he showed himself to the world as a talent that should not be overlooked.

“I think I did a good job, which is the most important thing. These are tough events, without many laps on the track, but I think today I made the most of everything. “I felt I was a bit faster than Alonso and Russell, but not enough to catch them, the difference was quite big.”

Leclerc has already said that it is only a matter of time before ‘Ollie’ finally arrives at the Great Circus. It’s clear that with performances like the one he had this weekend he has plenty of numbers to give him another chance. You don’t have to lose track of it.