Ollie Bearman is due to take part in his first of six FP sessions this F1 season. At Imola, he will get behind the wheel of the Haas car, taking part in FP1 and gathering data for the team.
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Each F1 team has to have a rookie driver take part in at least 2 FP1 sessions per season.
Here, a rookie is defined as a driver with less than two Grand Prix starts.
Usually teams have members of their driver academies, or their reserve/test drivers.
Bearman is the reserve/test driver for both Haas and Ferrari this year. As well as being one of the top candidates for the 2025 Haas seat.
Unlike most rookies who take part in just two sessions a season, Bearman is driving six times for the American team this year.
This is because of Haas’ interest in him for the 2025 seat.
Last year Ollie did two FP1 sessions with team, and impressively stayed within three hundredths of Nico Hulkenberg.
Ollie Bearman admitted he is “Really looking forward to re-joining, the team is having a great season.”
Imola marks the first of the six FP1 sessions that Ollie Bearman will take part in.
The British driver gained attention and praise earlier this season in Jeddah. Having his F1 debut with Ferrari after Carlos Sainz was out with appendicitis.
Bearman had an impressive debut finishing seventh, within the points and above the likes of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
He was praised by Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur for being “very calm” during his debut.
Along with receiving praise from teammate Charles Leclerc, Championship leader Max Verstappen and many other drivers. All making it clear, Bearman would no doubt find himself on the grid soon.
Bearman is currently competing in F2 for a second season.
Last year’s campaign gained a lot of attention, after achieving the first ever clean sweep in the series’ history. However, this season has presented more of a struggle for the British driver.
Ollie Bearman currently has more F1 championship points than F2 points. Despite this Ayo Komatsu, the new Haas team principal has said there is more weight on his FP1 one session than on his F2 campaign.
“I’d put probably more weight on what we do with him, how he performs in our environment. But of course he needs to perform in F2. That’s clear.”
There is also the possibility that Bearman steps into the seat early this season, as Kevin Magnussen has 10/12 penalty points. If he reaches 12 points, he will receive a one race ban.
With these points not expiring for a year, Bearman may have to step in for a race if Magnussen gets two more penalty points.
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