FIA Steward claims Ferrari already has a replacement for Lewis Hamilton
Despite not having made his debut with Ferrari yet, Johnny Herbert has found Lewis Hamilton's replacement in the form of Oliver Bearman.
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Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO), Ferrari logo (via Ferrari)
Ferrari has its driver lineup sorted out for the coming years. Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have long-term contracts with the Scuderia as Carlos Sainz departs the team after the final triple header. Despite this future security, FIA steward Johnny Herbert has already devised the next driver in line to take up Hamilton’s seat at Ferrari and claimed Oliver Bearman to be the best candidate for it.
Oliver Bearman made a super-sub appearance at the Saudi Arabian GP this year when Carlos Sainz had to undergo an emergency appendicitis surgery. His P7 finish earned him fame within the paddock and he then went on to participate in two further races with Haas, while also earning a seat there for the next season.
Witnessing his growing stature within the paddock, Johnny Herbert took notice of Bearman’s capabilities and reckoned him to be the ideal candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton once the seven-time champion departs from Ferrari.
For me, the thing that proved what he could achieve was in Brazil, a circuit he had never been to before. It is a tricky circuit, and he was pretty much on top of it, he went to the top of the leaderboard in Friday practice, and in two laps was on top of the board. That is exciting as it’s another Brit and potentially down the line with his relationship with Ferrari, who knows, he could be joining Ferrari at the end of Lewis’ time there, whenever that may be.
Johnny Herbert said in an interview with Vision4Sport
The 60-year-old was flabbergasted by the teenager’s driving skills around Interlagos. Observing the latter’s potential, he backed Bearman in the intra-team fight that would ensue at Haas next year as he would partner Grand Prix winner Esteban Ocon in his first full-time F1 season.
Oliver Bearman took his subpar Brazil race as a learning lesson
Apart from this, his race in Brazil was his third race start in F1 after he had to sub-in for an ill Kevin Magnussen. He started 15th on the grid and hoped to make some moves. However, his race was filled with chaos which saw him accumulate a 10-second penalty and eventually finish P12, outside the points as the sole Haas driver.
Despite the tough race result, the 19-year-old got the experience of driving an F1 car in wet weather conditions, which would have been a completely new experience for him.
First of all I learned the track, which I wasn’t going to be able to do before next year. Then of course racing in these conditions under the water – it’s quite rare that you get to do so. Every lap in the wet is really valuable and I managed to do a lot today, so I’m quite happy with that.
Oliver Bearman said in the post-race interview (via Formula 1)
Apart from this, the F1 grid readies up for the final triple header. A close championship battle has been ensuing on the constructor’s front, which could result in any of the top teams in the form of McLaren, Ferrari, or Red Bull taking the trophy home. Thus, the next few weeks would be exciting as the championship on both fronts would be decided in the remaining races.
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Geetansh Pasricha
(742 Articles Published)