Oliver Bearman says ‘game-changing’ F1 driver is even better at qualifying than Max Verstappen

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The 2025 Formula 1 season will see at least three rookies introduced to the grid after a winter of stability last year.

Mercedes have called up Kimi Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton; Jack Doohan will make his full debut with Alpine and Ferrari are set to loan Oliver Bearman to Haas.

Much of the hype will be around Antonelli given he’s going to be jumping straight into a potentially race-winning car, but Formula 1 fans are always intrigued to see how young talent perform up and down the grid.

Bearman has impressed during both of his cameos this year, already scoring points for parent team Ferrari and future team Haas.

However, Franco Colapinto’s outings for Williams after replacing Logan Sargeant should give the trio hope that they can be immediately competitive when the season opener in Australia rolls around next March.

Bearman was a guest on the Beyond The Grid Podcast and spoke to journalist Tom Clarkson about his bit-part roles in this year’s campaign and his plans for 2025 and beyond.

READ MORE: Who is 2025 Haas driver and Ferrari gem Oliver Bearman? Everything to know

The British teenager made his unexpected debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when Carlos Sainz fell ill and had a lot to learn from temporary teammate Charles Leclerc.

Bearman admitted that although Leclerc only gave him small pieces of information throughout the weekend, they were extremely valuable to him.

He understood how important they could be, especially as Bearman believes Leclerc is the best qualifier on the grid.

That’s a serious accolade considering the exceptional one-lap pace of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, as well as Lewis Hamilton who has over 100 pole positions to his name.

Oliver Bearman considers Ferrari star Charles Leclerc as the best qualifier in Formula 1

Asked about the advice Leclerc gave him before his debut in Jeddah, Bearman said: “I mean not much in the way of advice, any advice he gave me was I mean seemingly little to him.

“He was giving me a bit of help about the tyres in the consecutive laps before the race.

“But for him, it was a tiny bit of advice, for me it was game-changing because I was very low in experience and I needed every bit of help I could get and he was really open.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

“I mean, he’s just a great guy, so it makes sense. But just having him to compare to especially in qualifying, I would say he’s the best qualifier especially at the moment, you know that he’s going to get it right.

“So, just try and copy what he’s doing, that was my goal.”

Nico Rosberg criticises unlikely Leclerc qualifying error during the Singapore Grand Prix

Leclerc has unfortunately developed a reputation for being unbelievably quick on a Saturday but failing to convert that into meaningful results on a Sunday.

Martin Brundle described Leclerc as F1’s best qualifier last year but unfortunately, his record beyond that isn’t as good as he would like.

The Monegasque driver has 26 pole positions to his name but only seven victories.

That conversion is partly because last season his Ferrari was extremely quick in qualifying conditions, but no match for Verstappen on race day.

Nico Rosberg wasn’t impressed with the mistake he made during qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix, where he dipped his tyres outside of the track limits to have his time deleted.

As Carlos Sainz had already put his car in the wall in Q3, Ferrari had to make do with a fifth-row shutout.

That made scoring a hefty haul of points difficult in their quest to overturn Red Bull and McLaren’s advantage in the Constructors’ Championship.