'Ferrari wanted Bearman to join this F1 team at the start of the season'

Charles Leclerc finished third in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, yet it was mostly about the Ferrari driver who finished seventh. Oliver Bearman stepped into the SF-24 on Friday and Saturday as Carlos Sainz was absent due to appendicitis. F1 journalist Michael Schmidt reported that Bearman should have raced in Formula 1 earlier.

Schmidt explains in Auto Motor und Sport's podcast that Bearman could have already driven in the top class of motorsport full time. "Ferrari originally wanted to put Ollie Bearman already this year at Haas. But since Haas had car issues last year, they wanted to fix the issues first before taking a rookie. Bearman is definitely the top candidate for Haas's seat next year."

Formula One fans waxed lyrical about his baptism of fire in Jeddah. On this one, Bearman, who is racing for Prema in Formula 2, is now far behind in his push for the title. In Bahrain, the Brit could not add any points due to set-up problems, but Bearman could not get any points in Jeddah either, as he had to race in Formula 1.

It seems clear that Ferrari have confidence in Bearman, as he is scheduled to complete six free practice sessions in Formula 1 this season. In GPblog's ratings, Bearman scored highly.