Damon Hill has messaged Oliver Bearman after the Haas driver stated he feels like ‘an absolute idiot’ watching his F1 debut at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for Ferrari.
The 19-year-old has returned to Jeddah 12 months on from making his Formula 1 debut as a last-gasp stand-in as Carlos Sainz needed emergency surgery for appendicitis. Ferrari only told Bearman that he would race in the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP with just three hours’ notice.
Yet the Briton proved to be an instant hit in the pinnacle of motorsport as Bearman qualified in P11 and came home for a P7 finish. He was also the second-highest finishing British driver in the race to George Russell, after managing the threat of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton also only denied the Havering native a Q3 appearance on his F1 debut as Bearman became the youngest-ever Ferrari F1 driver, too. The London-born star was only 0.036s shy of the seven-time F1 champion’s Q2 lap time, and would enjoy a clean race over the 50 laps.
Damon Hill ‘can’t wait’ to see what Oliver Bearman does if his 2024 Saudi Arabian GP F1 debut was ‘idiot level’
Yet Bearman admits he feels like an ‘absolute idiot’ when the now full-time Haas racer looks back on his performance at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP for Ferrari. He feels some of the lines and laps the Ferrari Driver Academy product produced were below the standards he can set.
READ MORE: Who is 2025 Haas driver Oliver Bearman? Everything to know
Bearman reflected, via quotes by The Race: “If I look back at myself from one year ago, I feel like an absolute idiot. Some of the laps and some of the lines I was doing were really bad. But I can’t be too harsh on myself, it was a tough scenario.”
But 1996 F1 champion Hill ‘can’t wait’ to see what Bearman does produce in his career if the Haas pilot feels his debut with Ferrari at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP was that of an ‘idiot’. His admission even follows Bearman’s P10 in the Bahrain Grand Prix that Hill called a ‘star drive’.
Hill posted on his Instagram Stories: “Well, if that’s idiot level, can’t wait for genius!”
Haas will see the positives from Oliver Bearman not relying on a standard he does not like
Ferrari threw Bearman in at the deep end in his role as their 2024 reserve driver to replace Sainz at the very last minute at last term’s Saudi Arabian GP. Yet he more than swam as the Briton coped with the pressure of Hamilton hunting Bearman down over the closing stages.
It would have also been beyond harsh to expect Bearman to produce a totally flawless drive on his Formula 1 debut as the youngest-ever Ferrari F1 driver given he was also in Jeddah to race in last term’s Formula 2 round – for which he scored pole position for the Feature Race.
But it is even positive for Haas and Bearman that he sees areas with the Briton’s efforts that he now feels were below the standards he should set. He clearly does not want to rely on a level Bearman is not content with after sealing his first Q3 at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix.
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