Toto Wolff stunned by ‘incredibly good’ rival F1 driver’s ‘statement’ at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has waxed lyrical about an ‘incredibly good’ rival Formula 1 driver at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after they produced ‘quite a statement’.

The Silver Arrows were among the teams to beat in Baku throughout practice this weekend. Lewis Hamilton has proven the Mercedes package has pace around the city streets, albeit a shade shy of topping the timesheet. George Russell also often struggled for speed on Friday.

Baku was once a happy hunting ground for Mercedes, as well, as one of the most successful Formula 1 teams at the Azerbaijan GP. Nico Rosberg won the European Grand Prix when the paddock first raced in Baku in 2016 before Hamilton won in 2018 and Valtteri Bottas in 2019.

Haas stand-in Oliver Bearman impresses Toto Wolff at the Azerbaijan GP

But a driver with no hope for winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix without a very eventful race in 2024 also left a big impression on the Silver Arrows’ team boss. Wolff could only voice his praise for Oliver Bearman after seeing what the Haas stand-in driver produced during Friday.

Bearman is replacing Kevin Magnussen at the Azerbaijan GP after the Dane accumulated 12 penalty points on his super licence and gained a one-race ban. It comes as a slight blessing in disguise for Haas as Bearman will race for them full-time in 2025 alongside Esteban Ocon.

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

Ocon will get Magnussen’s Haas seat once his contract at Alpine expires, while Bearman will replace Sauber-bound Nico Hulkenberg and graduate from Formula 2. But soon-to-be works Audi driver Hulkenberg is Bearman’s teammate with Haas for this weekend’s Azerbaijan GP.

The way that Bearman instantly matched and sometimes beat Hulkenberg’s pace in practice for the Azerbaijan GP on Friday also impressed Wolff. The Mercedes team principal admired how the 19-year-old immediately got up to speed in a Haas car he has seldom sat in before.

“Incredibly good,” Wolff told Sky Sports Germany. “Good for one lap, almost faster, but then just as fast as Nico. That’s quite a statement. And then in the long run, as long as they drove the same weight, he was faster.”

Oliver Bearman crashes in FP3 after a smooth first day in Baku

Bearman has also driven the VF-24 during a Grand Prix weekend this year after doing FP1s with Haas at the Emilia Romagna GP, the Spanish GP, the British GP and the Hungarian GP. He also contested the Saudi Arabian GP for Ferrari after Carlos Sainz’s appendicitis surgery.

All of that experience with Haas helped Bearman to set the 11th-fastest time in FP1 for the Azerbaijan GP with a 1:46.973. Hulkenberg set the 12th-fastest time in FP1 with a 1:47.135 but improved to P8 in FP2 with a 1:44.475, while Bearman ranked in P10 with his 1:44.547.

But a smooth Friday did not carry over to FP3 as Bearman crashed his Haas in the barriers at Turn 1 to scupper the Briton’s preparations for qualifying at the Azerbaijan GP. He carried too much pace into the first bend and clattered the outside barriers after bailing out just too late.