Jeddah and Baku are a “tough draw” for my first two F1 races

Oliver Bearman says he would not have picked Jeddah and Baku for the circuits on which to make his first two grand prix starts were it up to him.

The Ferrari junior driver, who will race for Haas as a full-time F1 driver in 2025, is standing in for the banned Kevin Magnussen this weekend in Azerbaijan.

It will be Bearman’s second outing in a grand prix this season after he stood in for Carlos Sainz Jnr at Ferrari in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix six months ago.

Much like Jeddah, Baku is a high-speed street circuit offering little margin for error. Although he secured pole position and won both Formula 2 races held here last year, Bearman admits he would have preferred a more conventional circuit to race on for his first grand prix for his new team.

“It’s definitely a tough track, Bearman said. “It’s my second race in F1, and it’s my second street track that I’m racing. So it’s been a bit of a tough draw. If I could have picked two races, it probably wouldn’t have been these ones.

“But then again, I had success here last year. It went well. I think the difficult part is building up the confidence on a track like this because the walls are close. Without having confidence on the brakes, you struggle to be fast. But to get the confidence on the brakes, it’s risky.

“I did touch the wall quite a few times last year, most notably in qualifying where I bent the suspension, which wasn’t my finest moment. I somehow managed to do the pole, but I don’t think I’ll get away with that this year in F1.”

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Bearman said he will “leave a bit more safety margin, especially in the first sessions” as he gets used to the track. “I think the main goal is to build up the confidence and really be confident in the car and myself before I start to push and find the limits.”

He qualified 11th and finished an impressive seventh on debut for Ferrari in Jeddah despite getting just a single practice session of preparation in the car. Having had several Friday practice runs in the VF-24 he will be racing this weekend since his debut, Bearman says he is more than ready to step in and perform for Haas in Baku.

“It has been a while that Kevin’s been close to a race ban, so I knew it was a potential possibility to jump in the car at any point,” he said. “If I could have chosen, it would be one that doesn’t clash with F2, but you don’t choose when to jump in F1 and every opportunity is one that you take.

“But I’ve been really preparing for next year and part of that means that I’m ready also now. So it’s another great opportunity to show how I’ve improved and what I can do.”