Oliver Bearman goes into his first full season in Formula 1, driving for the Haas F1 Team. The 19-year-old already has some races under his belt, but still feels like a rookie.
Haas is going into the new campaign with an all new driver line-up. Oliver Bearman has been elevated up into Formula 1, while Esteban Ocon left Alpine to join the American outfit. The Frenchman didn’t even got to drive in the season finale for Alpine and was replaced by now-full-time driver Jack Doohan.
F1 arrives at the Bahrain International Circuit, as action is set to go underway with testing just around the corner. Haas debuted its new VF-25 in a filming day after the F1 75 Season Launch Event.
Rookie feeling is still there
Last season, Bearman made his real debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He replaced Carlos Sainz at Scuderia Ferrari, who was out due to appendicitis. A strong performance in Sunday’s race put the young Briton in P7, beating the new Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
He also replaced Kevin Magnussen at Haas twice that season. Despite the three races and multiple FP1 sessions to his name Bearman still considers himself a rookie.
“I would still consider myself a rookie,” he said. “I think I’m not officially a rookie, but I think that’s a bit harsh. There are certainly some rookies with more mileage in F1 than me who are still official rookies, so I think it’s harsh to not call me a rookie.
“I still feel like a rookie. There are still tracks that I haven’t been to, and I still haven’t done a full season in F1, which in my mind makes me a rookie. But I am very lucky to have done three races and a lot of mileage behind the scenes.”
Bearman excited for season with Haas F1
He is excited and ready to get the season underway with Haas, as F1 is set to kick off its opening race in Australia in two weeks. For a rookie, Bearman was given a lot of TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) in the past months to get as much mileage as possible on his record.
“I mean, the only uncertainty is how the car is going to perform,” he added. “I’m quite certain that I feel confident heading into [the first race] of what I can do, how comfortable I am in F1 at this stage.
“I’ve had a good amount of mileage for a rookie, lots of TPC but also lots of race weekends as well, which are very different. Race weekends are unique and a different type of pressure to running on track by yourself in TPC, so to get that experience has been really invaluable.
“Now I’m just excited to get 24 of them, build up, gain experience and really be able to build from it. At least I know exactly what my calendar’s going to look like this year.”
