British junior has confidence in Abu Dhabi: 'Could keep up with F1 drivers'

Oliver Bearman gets back in the Haas car during the first free practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The young British talent impressed during his first practice for the US team in Mexico and now hopes to follow that up well.

It feels like an eternity ago, but the last F2 race was won by Bearman. However, that victory dates back to early September at the Monza circuit. Bearman was the best in the main race and climbed further up the F2 championship standings. The Briton was rewarded with a practice session for Haas. Bearman made use of that.

Although it was a practice, not a qualifying or race, everyone was impressed by what Bearman showed. Nico Hulkenberg was only three-tenths faster than the 18-year-old Ferrari pupil. With similar programmes for Hulkenberg and Bearman, the team also praised the young driver. In Abu Dhabi, he will get another chance.

Why Bearman is labelled a great talent

"It's been a long time since then, to be honest. I haven't been in any races since. I've been watching, wishing I was there, but obviously not. I've been doing a bit of simulator with Haas as well just to work towards their future, next year's car and stuff like that just because they have their simulator in Maranello. I was probably a good guy to choose since I'd recently driven their car, and it's nice to feel like I was a bit helpful on that side," Bearman said in Abu Dhabi.

GPblog then asked what he learned from his previous performance: "I took a bit of self-confidence after that. Before the previous free practice, I'd already driven an F1 car, but I didn't know where I stood. It was just me on track, but it was nice when I went there [Mexico]. I was more or less competitive. It was hard to make any expectations, and I was really nervous before that session, even if I tried not to show it. I was quite happy to show that I could be there and be close to these guys. That was probably the biggest lesson."

He was somewhat surprised at his own performance. "Probably a little bit, just because I had no expectations. But I just straight away had a good feeling with the car, so I knew that I would be able to get a lot out of it. Not everything, but I knew I could do a good job after a few laps, and I felt a good bond with the car. That was a nice feeling to have, and after that, I knew I could do a decent job. It wasn't the best, but I was still fairly happy."

Bearman for test in Abu Dhabi

Still, Bearman's followers were not surprised. The young Briton has been impressive for a couple of years, mainly because of his tremendous growth. He only competed in British championships in karting before immediately switching to prestigious European F4 championships. He won races in his first year, and in his second year, he was already winning titles. In F3, he also won a race and came just a little too late to compete for the title. In F2, he did so again a year later.

However, the fact that Bearman is already competing right at the front in such a short time says enough about his potential. The Brit has far less experience than all the drivers around him, is the youngest driver in F2 and is the flagship Ferrari driver for good reason. A new test will follow in Abu Dhabi. A practice session, the Young Driver Test after the Abu Dhabi GP and, of course, the final race of the F2 championship. Winning the championship is no longer possible. That must be the goal next year, again at Prema and then with teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli. That promises fireworks.