Gunter Steiner praises the talent of Oliver Bearman, his former protégé at Haas, and admits: he is the best rookie on the grid.
Oliver Bearman has caught everyone’s attention, including Ferrari’s, after his impressive performance in Mexico. The young Haas driver came close to his first Formula 1 podium by finishing fourth, showing remarkable pace throughout the race.
Gunter Steiner had nothing but praise for his former driver. Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast after the Mexican Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the former Haas team principal joked that if he had stayed in Formula 1, Oliver Bearman would have already won a race by now.
“I have to say it because I signed him in 2023,” he said proudly with a smile. “A brilliant signing. Obviously, he’s the best rookie of the year. What else could he be? I signed him in 2023. If you do a good job in FP1, you’ll do more in 2024, which of course he did.”
However, Gunther Steiner regrets not being able to fully follow Ollie Bearman’s growth after leaving his role at the start of 2024. “At that point I wasn’t there anymore. Imagine if I were still there; now he’d be winning races.”
While praising the 19-year-old driver, the Italian manager highlighted Ollie Bearman’s composure throughout the weekend in Mexico. “He stayed calm. He qualified well, because before he often made rookie mistakes. And that’s why he got so many penalty points. He’s under pressure. I think Ollie forgets that he’s only two points away from being banned. But in Mexico, he didn’t make a single mistake. He was perfect. What more could he have done?”
“I was very happy for Ollie. Especially for the team in Mexico. They had a good car there. Ollie did a great job, and finishing fourth is a very good result,” Gunther Steiner concluded.
Leave a Reply