Oliver Bearman joins Ferrari F1 testing at Fiorano amidst Carlos Sainz’s Australian GP uncertainty

Following Carlos Sainz’s emergency ‘sick leave’, Oliver Bearman displayed an impressive run in his official F1 debut at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP. Fast forward to today, Bearman is busy logging laps at the Ferrari F1 testing ground at Fiorano, while Sainz is still recovering from his operation.

However, Ferrari is about to have a real headache with these two speedsters right before the Australian GP.

Oliver Bearman joins at Fiorano Ferrari F1 testing after debut

Oliver Bearman, aged 18 years and 306 days, made his official debut in Formula 1 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, becoming the youngest-ever driver for Ferrari F1 and the youngest-ever British F1 driver. He started his first race from P11 at the Jeddah grid, after a ‘tough Q3 session a day earlier.

Luckily, after putting on a great fight, Oliver Bearman crossed the chequered flag at the 7th spot, with a lap time of 1:21:25.952 hours. In the end, he grabbed away 6 points from the Saudi Arabian GP, and currently sits at P10 in the Driver’s Standings.

Fast forward to today, Ferrari just announced that Oliver Bearman is once again in the driver’s seat of one of their F1 racing machines. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Italian giants shared that the British racer is now at the Fiorano circuit in Italy, logging laps with the F1-75 racing machine as part of a testing program.

From what SportsZion understands, Ferrari is trying to keep Bearman race-fit with a run-out in the 2022 F1-75 racing car, which is now available as a practice car, at the Fiorano testing grounds. Bearman’s test runs at the Fiorano Circuit come at a time when Carlos Sainz is recovering from his ‘smooth operation’ and trying to return to Ferrari before the Australian GP.

Will Carlos Sainz return to Ferrari F1 at Australian GP?

On Saturday (09/03/2024), Carlos Sainz, who earlier announced his ‘smooth operation’ on X, was somehow able to be present in the race paddocks at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP. He witnessed the impressive runs of his mates–especially Bearman’s–from the Ferrari stand, despite still being in the recovery phase.

In a post-race interview, Fred Vasseur–the Ferrari Team Principal–revealed that he was ‘quite optimistic’ about Carlos Sainz returning before the Australian GP. “The recovery so far is amazing, the fact he was able to come today to be with the team is a very good sign, and a very good support for us,” he started by saying.

“Now, he will fly back with me tomorrow [Sunday] and he will have one week of complete rest, and we will take a decision on when he has to fly to Melbourne in one week’s time. But, I’m quite optimistic,” he concluded.

However, in a previous media session, Vasseur also emphasized on the Spaniard’s proper recovery, by stating, “The most important thing is not to push today, it’s to recover and to recover properly,” He also pointed out on Sainz’s personal choice, and said, “I don’t want to rush, but he’s an adult, and he’ll take the right decision.”

Ferrari will now take on the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit on 24th March at the Australian GP, either with Oliver Bearman or Carlos Sainz as the #2.

Should Oliver Bearman start for Ferrari at the Australian GP as well? Can Sainz even recover before the race on the 24th? Is Bearman better than Sainz? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.