Ollie Bearman has been reflecting on the first half of his rookie campaign in F1, with the Briton admitting that he has had to learn from “costly mistakes” along the way.
After making three ‘super-sub’ appearances for Ferrari and Haas during 2024 – claiming points on two of these outings – Bearman made his full-time debut on the grid this season with Haas.
The 20-year-old currently sits in 19th place of the Drivers’ Championship on eight points, having scored on four occasions which has included three double points finishes alongside team mate Esteban Ocon.
With the Hungarian Grand Prix marking the final race before F1’s traditional summer break, Bearman was asked during the weekend to sum up the first half of his season, both for himself and the team.
“I think for both of us, it’s been a few missed opportunities,” he answered. “There have been some very costly mistakes from my side, which we’ve had to learn from, but the car has been really good in the previous two races.
“We managed to score some points in Spa, which was great, but still, that was the opportunity to do more. So that’s what we’ll be targeting for the next few races.”
Bearman is one of a number of rookies on the grid this season, alongside the likes of Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto.
When pushed on whether this year’s new arrivals are the best prepared in the sport’s history, the Haas driver responded: “I would say so. I was lucky to do some races, others had a lot of testing, which prepared us well.
“But I also think that the off-track preparation, as in simulator work, and all of the time that we spend as a reserve driver and everything like that, even if you’re not driving the real car, it prepares you incredibly well. So I think we’re incredibly prepared.
“But on the other hand, I think that all of us as a collective group are doing pretty well as well.”
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