Fred Vasseur reveals the reason for choosing 18-year-old Oliver Bearman as Ferrari reserve for 2024

Oliver Bearman was a bold pick by Ferrari to be the reserve driver for Maranello in 2024.

Fred Vasseur reveals the reason for choosing 18-year-old Oliver Bearman as Ferrari reserve for 2024

Fred Vasseur and Oliver Bearman (Via IMAGO)

The Saudi Arabian GP was full of uncertainty for the Ferrari crew. The Italian team found itself in need for a ‘Supersub’ to replace Carlos Sainz as the Spaniard due to a medical emergency. As depicted from the results, reserve driver Oliver Bearman exceeded expectations and finished in P7. Hence, Fred Vasseur delved into the reason for picking the 18-year-old as the third driver of the Scuderia in 2024.

Carlos Sainz suffered from Appendicitis and had to miss out on the Saudi Arabian GP. Hence, the F2 driver, Oliver Bearman was the replacement of choice for the team. The 18-year-old debutant finished P7 in the race and scored points on his F1 debut. Hence, Bearman rejoiced on scoring points and talked about the difficulty of the race as well.

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Team principal Fred Vasseur also explained why Bearman was selected and not Antonio Giovinazzi. Vasseur mentioned that it was not sensible to ask Giovinazzi to race in the Formula 1 calendar, keeping in mind his Le Mans Hypercar duties. The Italian driver was running the program and the LMH at the same time and wouldn’t be able to drive under both categories simultaneously.

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I made the decision in the winter because I thought it was a bit stupid last year to ask Antonio to take part in 22 or 24 races while he was running the LMH at the same time program.
Vasseur told motorsport-total.com.

Apart from this, the Frenchman highlighted the importance of LMH and how it is a big challenge for Ferrari. Previously, the constructor also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Hence, the team principal couldn’t expect Giovinazzi or Robert Shwartzman to travel alongside the team for F1 duties. Hence, Bearman was the driver of choice to become the reserve driver for Ferrari.

The LMH is very important for us - it is a big challenge - and I don't want to expect Antonio or Schwarzmann to travel with us and do an F1 week in the week after Qatar and a race in between. That's why we have decided that Ollie would be with us.

Oliver Bearman hopes for Carlos Sainz to recover before the Australian GP

The 18-year-old scored points in Saudi Arabia and was also the third youngest driver to ever race in F1. Bearman wished for a speedy recovery for Carlos Sainz. The Briton highlighted that he wanted the Spaniard back in his car. However, this didn’t mean that the prodigy did not want to race in F1.

Honestly, I’m not sure. I hope not. That’s not to say I don’t want to be in the car, but I wish Carlos the very best and I hope he feels better.
Bearman said, as reported by racefans.net.
Oliver Bearman
Oliver Bearman (Via IMAGO)

Apart from this, Bearman asserted that the car belonged to Carlos Sainz and he should be the one driving it. Hence, according to updates from the team, Sainz should recover fully by the Australian GP weekend. The Spanish driver will likely take part in the upcoming race after sitting on the sidelines in Jeddah.

It’s his car, and I feel like I shouldn’t be in his car, I should give it back to him so he can have another turn

Ferrari has been showcasing great results down the season already. Hence, Maranello could seal a great lead over Mercedes early on in the season. Currently, the team is preparing for the upcoming Australian GP as Carlos Sainz recovers from the illness. Bearman would return to his F2 duties and will continue his reserve duties at Maranello.

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