Bearman Deserves Chance, But 'Never Assume Lewis Is Mistake'

Tuesday, 19 March 2024 at 07:30

Former F1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne said Oliver Bearman deserves a chance in Formula One after his showing in Jeddah.

As Ferrari engineer Jock Clear said, the Italian team obviously believed in Ollie Bearman's skills to put him in the F1 car with such short notice at one of the most challenging tracks in the calendar, but he "absolutely vindicated that choice."

The 18-year-old had promising results in lower series like Formula 2, but that doesn't always translate into performances as he showed during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Stoffel Vandoorne told talkSPORT:

"I think he had a great, great debut race. Formula One takes it to the next level the cars are so fast."

Read also

Bearman Credits Sainz And Leclerc For 'Fantastic' Help During His First Race

Formula 1 is connected with different kinds of pressure. Bearman replacing Carlos Sainz was the story of the weekend, so all the media attention was on the young Briton, but as Vandoorne said, he dealt with it "very well."

"There was a lot of sudden media attention and pressure that comes on your shoulders, and he dealt with that very well. They had a very solid race and there's nothing more he could have done."

Bearman was on the candidate list for the Haas seat even before the Jeddah race. However, he has now confirmed that he deserves a chance.

Even Haas's former team principal, Guenther Steiner, said he would give the British teenager a seat on the American team after confirming he has what it takes. Vandoorne agrees Bearman deserves the seat.

"Everyone is pretty convinced that [Bearman] will get that seat - or get a seat. We'll have to wait and see, Formula One is a funny world sometimes. It's hard to make predictions but definitely deserves a chance and I hope he find his way there."

After seeing the 18-year-old finish the race in front of Lewis Hamilton, some F1 fans said Ferrari's signing of the seven-time World Champion was a mistake. The former F1 driver disagreed with this notion, as he added:

"I wouldn't say [signing] Lewis [Hamilton] is a mistake. Never assume Lewis is a mistake. He's still the most successful driver on the grid and if they get Lewis in at the top of his game they'll not regret it!"