P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Ferrari will have taken great encouragement from how assured Ollie Bearman was on his F1 debut in place of Carlos Sainz. But that stand-in performance showed to the world how good its junior is – and that gives Ferrari a headache over what to do with him next
Ferrari originally had a plan to groom Ollie Bearman for a Formula 1 seat, potentially even with Ferrari itself, given his talent. Bearman ended up debuting earlier than planned in 2024, impressing at Haas and Ferrari is considering its next steps. Despite finishing seventh in Saudi Arabia, Bearman’s potential is clear. Haas is likely to offer him a race seat for 2025 and 2026. Charles Leclerc believes Bearman will soon have a permanent F1 seat, possibly by 2025. Ferrari’s plans for Bearman have been accelerated by his recent performances, posing new challenges. Team principal Vasseur emphasized Bearman’s focus should still be on succeeding in F2.
