Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has outlined that Oliver Bearman will combine more FP1 outings in Formula 1 next year with another season in Formula 2.
It was announced last week that Bearman will be making his F1 bow later this month when he conducts an FP1 session with the Haas team at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
He will also be behind the wheel of the VF-23 in the opening practice session in Abu Dhabi, ensuring Haas fulfils its obligation to run a rookie driver in two FP1 sessions in the year.
Ahead of those appearances, Bearman was given the opportunity to drive an F1 car for the first time in his career when he drove Ferrari’s SF21 at the side’s Fiorano test track.
The Briton, who has been a member of Ferrari’s Driver Academy since the end of 2021, is currently competing in F2, where he sits sixth in the standings with four wins.
Vasseur has confirmed that Bearman will return for a second crack at F2 in 2024, alongside more F1 practice sessions to prepare him for the potential step up.
Asked whether he could provide an insight into Bearman’s racing schedule for next year, Vasseur said: “[In] 2024 he will do F2 again.
“But you know the situation, that we already had the discussion – I think it was the last press conference – about the junior series and the general programme is that the step is quite high with the F1, because we have no testing anymore, we have more and more Sprint event with just one FP1.
“We have three tests during the winter, it means that it’s quite difficult to adapt to the F1 and the rookies not always successful. I think Oscar [Piastri] did a very good job also because he had one year of preparation last year and he was already used to the F1.
“And we have to prepare in advance and it’s why we give him two FP1s this season with us and probably much more next year and we will prepare him for the future. So far, he’s doing a very good job in the junior series, but we know that it’s [F1] a long way [away].”
Vasseur’s mention of the lack of testing time now afforded to rookie F1 drivers followed comments by Logan Sargeant, who recently defended his tough maiden campaign.
“Experience always helps, but I have people to talk to just try and understand how to approach things and why these little mistakes are happening and how to get rid of them,” Sargeant said in Qatar.
“It is a constant work-in-progress, and I don’t think anyone is perfect in that sense – it is just about building off the mistakes, and it might sound silly, but using them to your advantage to try and learn from it.
“Ideally, you’d have more testing, as that is the best way to prepare – I mean back in the day when Lewis [Hamilton] and Fernando [Alonso] joined, everyone back then got endless days of testing, and in the current car too which is very different to what we experience now.
“Now, it is always a previous generation and that makes a difference, but even if it is the previous generation [of car used in testing], just having more days [overall] makes a difference.”
