The 18-year-old Brit, after his debut in Saudi Arabia, has stepped into the spotlight, and some are already going overboard with superlatives. Ollie has a path that the Ferrari Driver Academy has laid out for him: winning the Formula 2 title and then a full season with Haas. However, some are turning their noses up at the thought of him joining the American team.
Formula 1 rapidly processes the present and archives the past at an impressive speed. It’s unclear who first encapsulated a thought that has become a cornerstone in motorsport, namely you are “as good as your last race”, meaning, the general opinion about a driver is strongly influenced by their performance in their most recent race. This principle perfectly matches what was said and written about Oliver Bearman after the 2024 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah circuit, especially since ‘Ollie’ has, to date, only participated in one Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The British driver performed admirably in Jeddah, and his competitors were the first to acknowledge it. In Formula 1, drivers often grant their young colleagues the honor of a ‘first’, whether it’s their debut race, first victory, or first world championship. A pat on the back, handshakes, hugs, and verbal acknowledgments follow, but then it’s back on track to being competitors first and foremost.
At the end of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Oliver Bearman found himself in front of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and Lando Norris, almost in line to pay him the proper acknowledgment. And this means only one thing: the most important challenge was won by the Ferrari Driver Academy member.
Receiving so much positive attention is pleasing, both to the individual concerned and those involved in his journey. It confirms that one is on the right track, gratifies investors, and usually strengthens the foundation on which to build a successful future. In an era where superlatives are used without reserve, there’s also the risk of going too far. It’s easy to be dubbed a superstar, a super talent, or as they like to say in the Formula 1 paddock, “the next big thing.”
Then comes a bad Sunday, and the bubble of positivity bursts. Let’s look back at the Italian Grand Prix in 2022. Between Friday and Saturday night, Alexander Albon was hospitalized at San Gerardo Hospital in Monza for appendicitis, with Williams calling in Nyck De Vries in order to replace him for the rest of the weekend. The Dutchman finished the weekend with an excellent ninth place, earning compliments from everyone. Red Bull’s Helmut Marko went further, offering him a solid contract with AlphaTauri for the 2023 F1 season, only to fire him after ten races. That happens too.
Oliver Bearman’s story is very different from that of Nyck De Vries, starting with his age: eighteen versus the Dutchman’s twenty-seven at the time of the Williams call. Oliver has an important background in junior formulas: Italian and German F4 champion in 2021, third in F3 the following season (with the title lost at the photo finish) and sixth in Formula 2 last year, with four wins and three pole positions to his name.
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The Ferrari Driver Academy has designed a very defined project for him, which includes fighting for the Formula 2 title this year to put on the table as a business card to open the doors at Haas.
A clear path. Then came the 48 hours in Jeddah that brought the British driver under the powerful Formula 1 spotlights in red. After the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah circuit, the prospect of racing two seasons in Formula 1 with Haas seemed to become trivial, but some went even further, questioning Ferrari’s choice to sign Lewis Hamilton when Oliver Bearman is available ‘at home’.
People rush too much, and sometimes, in the wrong direction. Now, more than ever, Ferrari is called upon to protect Oliver Bearman’s talent, guiding him on his growth path and keeping him away from the risk of burning out.
Formula 1 is fierce. In the car, where the hardest work is to shave off that last half-second (the one that rightly separated Oliver Bearman from Charles Leclerc over one lap of the 6.174-kilometre Jeddah Corniche Circuit), and in terms of opinions that exalt and destroy within a few weeks. Today’s Max Verstappen, who is idolized without any reservations by the media and millions of fans, was nicknamed “Versbatten” in his first year and a half at Toro Rosso, when he was actually just completing his growth path linked to his premature debut in Formula 1.
Conversely, Kevin Magnussen, now considered one of the drivers who should make way for others, arrived in the sport hailed for his brilliant debut that saw him second at the end of his very first Grand Prix.
Oliver Bearman still has an unfinished growth path in Formula 2, his real target for the 2024 motorsport season. Then most likely will come the opportunity to debut in Formula 1 full-time (which is already a great achievement), accumulating the necessary kilometers to build a baggage of experience that in a Formula 1 without testing can only be formed during race weekends.
There’s no reason to rush things; if Ollie Bearman proves he deserves it, the last important call will just be a matter of time. If the call comes in 2027 from Ferrari, it will be received by a guy with half the years Fernando Alonso boasts today, and he will have plenty of time ahead to fully exploit his potential.
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