"All eyes on him and not doing a single mistake": Former F1 title contender praises Ferrari protege Ollie Bearman's F1 debut

Former F1 driver Heinz Harald Frentzen showered praises on Ferrari junior driver Oliver Bearman for his excellent performance at the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP.

After the first day of practice at Jeddah, Ferrari announced that Carlos Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis and would be replaced by reserve driver Bearman for the rest of the race weekend. The youngster impressed the F1 grid by qualifying at P11 and finishing the Grand Prix at P7.

During a discussion on X about whether modern F1 cars were easier to drive than in the past, Frentzen praised Oliver Bearman's stunning performance at the Saudi Arabian GP. He applauded the young driver for handling the pressure and not making any mistakes throughout his debut race.

"I didn’t had a change to drive this contamporary F1 cars. In respect to Oliver Bearman, it’s not only about the speed. But being out there in a F1 car for the first time (Race) and all eyes on him and not doing a single mistake it means he has all it needs for a good F1 driver handling the pressure…," Frentzen wrote from his official X account.

Oliver Bearman has been with Ferrari since 2021 and acts as their and Haas's reserve driver in F1. The Briton currently races in the F2 Championship with Prema Racing.

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Ferrari team principal dismisses talks about Oliver Bearman potentially replacing Lewis Hamilton in future

Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur recently shot down speculations about Oliver Bearman potentially replacing Lewis Hamilton at the Italian team in the future. The youngster's exceptional debut in F1 at the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP has sparked discussions even before Hamilton's arrival at Maranello.

Though Vasseur praised Bearman for his performance around Jeddah, he clearly stated that the youngster's main focus should still be the F2 Championship.

“Don’t start to speak about after Lewis Hamilton, Lewis is still not in the team! But it’s a good signal for Ollie for sure, that was an important milestone. In Melbourne, he will be back on the F2 project, and the most important challenge for Ollie will be this one,” Vasseur said (via PlanetF1).

Lewis Hamilton will be leaving Mercedes after a 12 year partnership to join Ferrari in 2025. The Briton won six of his seven drivers' world championships and helped the Silver Arrows clinch eight consecutive constructors' titles from 2014 to 2021.