Oliver Bearman’s self-criticism
Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman’s first weekend as an official Haas driver highlighted his highly self-critical nature, as he called himself an idiot twice over the team radio message. The first instance occurred after he crashed into the barriers during the third Free Practice session at the 6.003-kilometre Baku City Circuit. The Englishman initially apologized to the American team for the incident, then expressed his frustration with the statement: “I’m really an idiot.”
11th place in qualifying isn’t enough
The second episode didn’t follow an accident or major mistake from the driver who will share the Haas garage with Esteban Ocon. In fact, the 19-year-old Ferrari Driver Academy member, besides finishing ahead of his more experienced teammate Nico Hülkenberg in qualifying, narrowly missed advancing to Q3, finishing 11th. Despite this, it wasn’t enough to quell the Brit’s frustration, and he vented again over the radio with a message similar to the previous one: “I had a lock-up. Damn! I’m really an idiot.”
Only disappointment
A strong qualifying performance wasn’t enough to calm Oliver Bearman, in his second Formula 1 appearance after this year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where he replaced the unavailable Carlos Sainz and brought the Ferrari home in 7th place: “It was a tough session,” he commented. “First of all, I was lucky to make it into Q2 because of the double yellow flags that cost me a lot of time, but I managed to get through. We were really on the limit for making it into Q3 if it hadn’t been for the mistake I made in the castle section. I’m quite disappointed in myself, not necessarily for qualifying but for FP3, where I lost a lot of laps and experience. Yesterday, I felt very comfortable with the car during my high-fuel lap, so I have high hopes for tomorrow.” – the Ferrari Driver Academy member concluded at the end of the qualifying session for the 2024 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
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