Top F1 drivers see a threat: "Very impressive" junior on his way to F1

Oliver Bearman made his debut in Formula 1 in Saudi Arabia, and it did not go unnoticed. The 18-year-old Ferrari driver finished in seventh place in the race, earning him international recognition. Drivers Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Sergio Perez were already impressed by Bearman after qualifying and are perhaps looking forward to fighting with him regularly in the near future.

Leclerc and Verstappen on Bearman

Leclerc saw his teammate, Sainz, drop out during the weekend, and Bearman's performance impressed the Monegasque. "It's definitely one of the most difficult tracks of the calendar for sure, being a street track and so fast as well. But he handled it perfectly. As soon as he got with the engineers this morning, he had so much to understand in order for him to be ready. We didn't have much time to speak. The only thing I've told him when he came this morning, I was like, “are you excited?” And he was like: “I cannot wait”.

Three-time world champion Verstappen is also impressed with the Ferrari protégé. "It's super hard to jump in on a track like this. And I think what he has done has been very, very impressive. I was watching his first few laps in FP3, because that's where you can judge if someone is a bit comfortable or not in the car. And by lap two, lap three, I was like: “Okay, that's a strong start. I like to see that.”

Perez agrees with Verstappen and Leclerc

Perez also compliments the young Brit. "I think it was very impressive. I think it's a place where you don't want to get the call to do your debut, because it's one of the most challenging places, the one that you have to take the most risk, the one that you have to be the most confident with the car, with the balance. Big respect for what he has achieved today. I think he has done a really strong job. It just shows how well prepared he is for the opportunity," Perez said.

According to rumours, Ferrari had already wanted Bearman to join Haas this season, but because Haas still had problems with the car, they wanted to fix them before bringing in a rookie. Even so, Bearman seems to be the number one candidate for a seat at Haas next season.