This F1 colleague has known for a long time: Kimi Antonelli is a top driver in the making

Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli know each other very well, after their joint season at Prema in Formula 2. "We pushed each other forward and had a tough season together", Bearman says in Miami to GPblog and others.

Antonelli knows how to impress, although the Italian has not yet made it to the podium. “Of course, he's up against a great teammate and a very quick one but he's already very close to George. But like I said, I'm not surprised. I think it's only a matter of time. He's very talented.”

Bearman himself is also a rookie, although he was allowed to substitute at Ferrari and Haas last season. The Briton has made progress, especially in the technical aspect, he says. “I've had a lot of experiences over the years now with Ferrari you know with my TPC running but also just being in the track as a reserved driver last year, listening to all of the debriefs and all of the comments from the drivers.”

“How they articulate what they're feeling has been quite useful for me, and even being a bit behind the scenes on set up meetings and stuff like that, understanding what direction they tend to take with the car, and based on limitations and stuff like that I've been able to learn quite a lot so that's been useful,” said the Haas F1 driver.