Bearman enjoys Baku battle with Hamilton as Vasseur rates the youngster
F1 News
Oliver Bearman has set a new record in Azerbaijan this Sunday. Not only the British youngster still has a 100% points scoring record in Formula One, he is now the first driver to earn points with two teams in his debut year. The British driver talked about his second F1 Grand Prix weekend following the race in the paddock to GPblog and others.
"It's definitely cool, it was a tough race. I wasn't running in the points till the end because of the crash in front. The car was really fast and honestly I was really fast as well. I just lost a lot of time in the first end, just not driving very fast. I was just saving the tyres too much and that was not really necessary," the youngster, who was a substitute for Kevin Magnussen this weekend, began.
Bearman eventually crossed the finish line in 10th position in Baku. Moreover, he had a great battle with the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton as well. "I was really pushing hard for some laps to overtake Franco and my tyre were really hot. It was exactly at that point that he pounced on me and could overtake me quite easily. After that I needed a few laps, then I caught him back up and I was almost catching the DRS again. It's annoying that I let him overtake, but a guy like you can’t make little mistakes when he's behind," he said about his battle with his compatriot.
He added: "You know when you go on the outside that he [Hamilton] is going to leave you space, which is a nice feeling. In turn one, I knew he wasn't going to put me in the wall which is a bit less sure with some other drivers. That's a nice feeling. It's always very clean but hard when I was racing him."
Vasseur rates Bearman and tells next step this year
Bearman will become a full-time Haas driver in 2025, but Kevin Magnussen will return in Singapore after he served his suspension in Baku. Ferrari's team principal, Frederic Vasseur also rated his junior driver's Grand Prix. "I'm always focused on my cars. It's difficult for me, but I will have time to watch the race tonight. I think he scored a point. He was there from the beginning of the weekend, from FP1, he was not far away to go in Q3."
"Once I was watching, he was fighting with Lewis, and I think with Hulkenberg and Albon, he was in the pace. I think the track is quite similar to Jeddah, and he likes this kind of track," the Frenchman praised the young Briton.
"It's a good experience for him, I think he learned a lot. He will have time to be back in the car for FP1, and it's a good step forward," he also commented on the what's next for Bearman in F1 in 2024. In Formula 2, Bearman has still two weekends left in the calendar in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
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