Ricciardo admits he feels pressure after Bearman's performance in Jeddah
General
Max Verstappen may have dominated the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last time out, but there was another big story from the Grand Prix weekend. After Carlos Sainz required surgery for appendicitis, he was replaced by 18-year-old Oliver Bearman, who finished in a fantastic seventh place on debut.
Bearman was meant to be preparing for the F2 race around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, but after Sainz fell ill, the PREMA driver swiftly replaced the Spaniard for FP3, qualifying and the race, and filled in fantastically. After finishing seventh, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell congratulated him on his brilliant performance as soon as they jumped out of the car.
There has still been no official word from Ferrari as to whether Sainz will return behind the wheel of his SF-24, but it looks like the Spaniard will race this weekend around the Albert Park Circuit, meaning Bearman will go back to his PREMA seat in F2.
Why Bearman gets so much praise
But the young Brit is still getting all sorts of praise from F1 drivers after his performance, with both Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri speaking about that in Thursday's press conference, with Ricciardo saying that he did a "tremendous job."
"The way I view it as well is, when there's only 20 of us on the grid, there is obviously a lot more talent than just 20 [drivers]. So that's where you see someone like Ollie, who has a lot of talent and had that opportunity to show it, and he did really well. I think it just speaks to how tight this sport is, and why there is maybe pressure and all that to perform because there is always going to be someone that is coming through the ranks and has obviously a lot of potential and a lot of talent," Ricciardo said.
"So yes, Ollie did great, I think everyone recognised that. And it's not easy. It's like any sport, you can be the best in practice, but when it comes to shining under the lights, things can change, and he obviously did a really good job under the lights as well," Ricciardo added.
Piastri also agreed with his fellow countryman: "Obviously, stepping in on Saturday morning for Ferrari, I think he did a great job. We were joking with him on the drivers' parade about what his neck strategy was going to be for the race, and looking at some of the onboards, I think he's probably still a bit sore. But no, he did a great job honestly. And I think he can be very proud of his performance."