Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli are allowed to do one thing in F1 paddock their F2 rivals can’t

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Oliver Bearman is the only confirmed rookie on the Formula 1 grid as it stands. But it seems certain that he won’t be the last.

Bearman will race for Haas next season, partnering Esteban Ocon. The American outfit confirmed the deal at the British Grand Prix, taking some of the pressure off the teenager for the rest of his F2 campaign.

He’s already made his F1 debut, having stood in for an unwell Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian GP. But now he’ll have the chance to race in the sport full-time.

Elsewhere, a report on Wednesday claimed his Prema teammate Kimi Antonelli has signed with Mercedes on a multi-year deal. All that remains is for the Silver Arrows to make that agreement public.

At the age of 18 – his birthday is at the end of next week – Antonelli will jump straight into one of the fastest cars on the F1 grid. That would be a daunting challenge in itself without the context of replacing Lewis Hamilton.

Elsewhere, Bearman’s former F2 competitor Jack Doohan will race for Alpine, according to Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz. And Gabriel Bortoleto could sign for Audi to go up against Nico Hulkenberg.

Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli allowed in F1 paddock unlike most F2 drivers

Speaking to the Motorsport Brazil YouTube channel, journalist Mariana Becker shared some insight into the experience of F2 drivers on a race weekend. They apparently need authorisation to even enter the F1 paddock.

This won’t be a problem for drivers like Bearman and Antonelli. They’re both part of F1 teams in a junior capacity (Ferrari and Mercedes respectively).

Likewise, championship leader Isack Hadjar is on the books of Red Bull, Bortoleto is part of the McLaren family and Franco Colapinto is a reserve for Williams. Not all of the drivers have earned this privilege, however.

For instance, third-place driver Paul Aron is no longer contracted to an F1 squad after parting ways with Mercedes. That means he can’t ‘wander around’ the paddock of his own volition.

“Even the Formula 2 guys, they can’t go into the Formula 1 paddock,” Becker said. “You don’t see people from Formula 3 and Formula 2 on a daily basis wandering around. No, you have to have authorisation.”

Peter Bonnington rejected Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari offer after what he saw from Kimi Antonelli

When he joins the F1 grid in 2025, Antonelli will have the opportunity to work with one of the sport’s best-known and most successful engineers in Peter Bonnington. Prior to his partnership with Lewis Hamilton, he teamed up with Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button.

Hamilton had hoped to bring him to Ferrari at the end of the year. But Bonnington will stay at Mercedes to help Antonelli after seeing the teenager’s extremely impressive performances in testing.

In a bid to prepare him for his debut, the Italian has been driving the 2021 and 2022 Mercedes cars. This is permitted under the regulations.

Antonelli found it difficult to reach the limit at first, but he built his confidence and understanding to a point where he could win the team over. It will be one of the riskiest but equally most exciting signings a top team has made in recent F1 history.