Oliver Bearman recovers from tough Bahrain to F2 pole in Saudi Arabia
Oliver Bearman recovered after failing to score points in Bahrain to pole for the FIA Formula 2 weekend in Saudi Arabia after a duel with the fast-starting Kush Maini.
Oliver Bearman won pole position for the FIA Formula 2 round in Saudi Arabia. (Joe Portlock/Formula Motorsport Limited/Getty Images)
The 18-year-old PREMA driver set a lap of 1:42.217 to take pole by just over two-hundredths of a second around the streets of Jeddah, setting the pace early before his fastest lap on his second-last attempt.
"Great qualifying, P1, really nice to be back to where we belong,” said Bearman.
“It was such a tough weekend in Bahrain, and a lot of things happened.”
“To come back here and put the car on pole, I'm really, really happy.
“So proud of the team for believing in me and working so hard, and I'm happy to have given them something to show for it.”
While the 22-driver Formula 2 field is all junior drivers, Bearman’s youthful exuberance shines through as he beams while discussing his qualifying performance.
“I just had a great feeling already, from lap one, and it was like being back in the old car.”
“I hope they don’t show the onboard, because the lap wasn’t the cleanest,” he jokes.
“But it was just enough.”
Bearman on track during qualifying in Jeddah. (Formula Motorsport Limited/Supplied)
It had seemed a scrappy day for the Brit, who had tested the limits of the Jeddah circuit and had a brief trip with three wheels off the ground after hitting a curb in practice, before finishing fourth in the standings.
It paid off, setting the fastest lap in qualifying on his second-last attempt and having the freedom to abort his final lap once it was not beaten by Maini, who had been on pole in round one before being disqualified for a technical infringement.
Bearman says that his team’s struggles in Bahrain were due to limitations from the abrasive track conditions, with not many changes in the way of car setup ahead of round two in Saudi Arabia.
For Bearman it’s a double-edged sword, coming off 15th- and 16th-place finishes in Bahrain, as well as incidents hampering his debut weekend in Jeddah last year.
He qualified second but was out of the sprint race after being hit by Théo Pourchaire, while losing the lead in the feature race before spinning and dropping to tenth.
“It came undone on Saturday… which kinda hurts because it was a new track, I was still very new to F2,” he recalls.
“Missing the race, it’s really difficult because I only did like three or four laps, and I didn’t really know what I needed from the car.”
“So, when we turned up on Sunday, we were taking a shot in the dark and in the end, it didn’t really work. The balance was a little bit out.
“My goal in the sprint race [this year] will be just to get the laps in and feel the car underneath me, and give myself experience for the day after.
“The main goal will be just to finish the sprint race which I didn’t get to do last year, but now I have no doubt we can be strong in the feature race.”
Bearman celebrates his pole position in pit lane. (Formula Motorsport Limited/Supplied)
It’s all smiles to end the press conference, after the top three are asked about the involvement of their families in their racing careers.
Bearman says that his family has supported him, with his father able to provide some racing experience and attends every race and his Formula 1 test sessions.
His mother doesn’t attend, he jokes, as she is too superstitious.
Your top three for Saturday's Feature Race 📸#SaudiArabianGP #F2 pic.twitter.com/meSYlOB8MAMarch 7, 2024
“It seems like every time she comes, I have a bad race, so she stays at home now,” he says to laughter from second-place Kush Maini and third-place Jak Crawford.
“I’ll sponsor her flight ticket!” says Maini.
Paul Aron will start the sprint race from reverse-grid pole after qualifying tenth, with lights out at 2.10am Saturday (AEDT) before Bearman leads the grid for the feature race at 12.25am Sunday.
Watch every race of the FIA Formula 2 season on Kayo Sports.
