Oliver Bearman has endured a difficult season in Formula 2, lacking consistency over the year with moments of brilliance, taking two wins.
The British driver will become a full-time Formula 1 driver in 2025, stepping into Haas alongside Frenchman Esteban Ocon in an all-new lineup for the American team.
Bearman will become one of four British drivers on the grid next season and graduate from Formula 2 despite a lacklustre season.
He has already competed in two Grand Prix this season, taking seventh place in his debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for Ferrari.
This was followed up by a drive to 10th place in Azerbaijan, as he out-qualified his teammate Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying.
Ferrari F1 team principal Frederic Vasseur was impressed with Bearman’s driving in Saudi Arabia and is adamant Formula 2’s expanded calendar made a difference when speaking at the team principals’ FIA press conference in Singapore.
Frederic Vasseur believes Formula 2 is a ‘good preparation’ for F1 as they run more races than previously
Formula 2 has been a very competitive championship throughout its history, allowing young drivers to hone their craft under the pressure of an F1 weekend.
Some of the championship’s alumni include Formula 1 race winners George Russell and Oscar Piastri who consistently battle at the front of the field.
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The championship now runs 14 rounds with two races per event, providing the platform for drivers to race on tracks used in F1.
Vasseur explained a Formula 2 season combined with simulator work and being embedded within an F1 team is sufficient preparation.
He said: “It’s probably also coming from the fact that F2 is a good preparation. Now in F2, they are doing 14 events. At one stage, they were doing nine or 10, with a car that is not that far away from the F1.
“And it’s the best preparation. On top of this a lot of them are doing tons of simulator and so on, and they are at the level. Now I’m not sure, the main issue for me is not the speed, because the speed, you can find a couple of drivers with a good speed.
“And at the end of the day, if you remember that Jeddah, for example, with Ollie, that I was mega impressed by the job done by Ollie, but even more with the fact that he didn’t do any mistakes on the start, pit stop, all the procedures that you have into the car to drive the car quick.”
Formula 2 is seeing multiple drivers graduate to F1 for the 2025 season
Bearman is moving up to Haas and will be graduating to Formula 1 alongside Andrea Kimi Antonelli who will need to deliver immediately at Mercedes.
Neither driver has had a championship-challenging F2 campaign for PREMA but have impressed when given the chance in a Formula 1 car. Bearman has been surprisingly lacklustre in his second F2 season after impressing in 2023.
Franco Colapinto is unlikely to compete at the highest level in 2025 but is racing for Williams in the closing stages of the season, after replacing Logan Sargeant.
The Argentinian scored points in just his second Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit, proving rookies can be on the pace straight away.