Fresh off his heroic F1 debut with Ferrari, Olly Bearman returned to the cockpit of a Ferrari car for a test drive in the F1-75 on Wednesday.
The move comes as Carlos Sainz Jr., Bearman’s substitute at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after Sainz required surgery for appendicitis, is aiming to recover in time for the Australian Grand Prix.
Ferrari shared a quick video of Bearman getting into the F1-75, the team’s challenger for the 2022 F1 season. Ferrari finished second in the constructors’ championship that season, but it was former team principal Mattia Binotto’s last year.
As Ferrari pointed out, Bearman’s test was part of the program scheduled for the season.
The move follows Bearman’s impressive debut for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. When Sainz was ruled out ahead of Friday’s FP3 and qualifying sessions, Bearman was tapped by the team to step into his seat. Bearman managed to advance to Q2 in the SF-24 after just one hour of practice time, and started the race from 11th place.
On Saturday night, Bearman finished an impressive seventh on his debut, holding off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in the final stages of the race, even though his two compatriots were running on fresh soft tyres. Despite this, he finished within the points.
As for Sainz, he returned to the paddock hours after undergoing an appendectomy and hopes to be back on the grid for the Australian Grand Prix on March 24.
Even if Sainz is unable to take the wheel at the Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari knows they have a driver who can perform in Sainz’s absence.
Even if he was only 18 years old.
