‘Impressive’ Ferrari youngster and 17-year-old Mercedes star top first day of Formula 2 testing

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The Formula 1 season may be over, but testing for next season’s Formula 2 campaign has just begun, with Oliver Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli topping the time sheets.

There were 22 drivers in action in Abu Dhabi for the first day of testing before the winter break begins.

Abu Dhabi has been a hotbed of testing in the past 10 days, starting with the first free practice session of the Formula 1 weekend.

The likes of Zak O’Sullivan and Isack Hadjar were in action for Williams and Red Bull respectively and took part for ART Grand Prix and Campos today.

More than half of the Formula 2 grid is unconfirmed for next year and while Andrea Kimi Antonelli will definitely be there, Oliver Bearman’s future is still undecided.

The ‘impressive’ Brit is part of Ferrari’s academy and has been touted for a potential drive at Haas in 2025.

If that’s the case, the other reason to stay in F2 would be if he feels he has a realistic chance of winning the championship.

However, as Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire have shown, that’s no guarantee of earning a seat on the F1 grid.

Bearman and Antonelli impress on day one of Formula 2 testing

The timing sheets for the first afternoon of F2 testing saw 22 drivers racing around the Yas Marina circuit.

Bearman led Antonelli by 0.165 at the top of the standings ahead of Formula 2’s best-performing rookie of last season Victor Martins.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the latest exciting talent to come through the Mercedes academy.

He’s been fast-tracked past Formula 3 and people within the team believe he’s already exceeded expectations.

At 17 years old, he’s almost certainly going to be the youngster driver in the series in 2024.

He’s already been confirmed by PREMA who are traditionally one of the strongest constructors at this level.

Given his age, he’ll be in no rush to challenge for the title straight away.

However, 2024 could be the year F1 finally has a much-needed shake-up in their driver line-ups.

That could mean drivers like Antonelli or Bearman have outside chances of breaking into the sport.