Bearman, putting Sakhir behind him

Ollie Bearman will be looking to fight back after a difficult time in Sakhir when the second round of the FIA Formula 2 season takes place in Jeddah this weekend.

The opening round of the season did not go well for Oliver Bearman as the English Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy driver failed to score points in the two races at the Bahrain International Circuit, as his car clearly lacked performance. The 18 year old could do no better than eighteenth in qualifying and at the start of the Sprint race, he was slowed when his engine went into “safety” mode before he could get going again.

A difficult race. “It was a difficult race,” admitted Ollie. “We tried a different strategy, deciding to pit to be able to push more, but unfortunately the problem on the first lap wiped out that plan and I couldn’t do better than 16^th.” His problems also affected the Feature Race. “It was a very difficult race,” continued Bearman. “We weren’t competitive and finished 15^th. Luckily we’re straight back on track in Jeddah, a good opportunity to check that we’ve fixed the car since Sakhir. Let’s hope we can put Bahrain behind us as just a bad memory from the start of the season.”

The track. The Saudi track layout and surface is very different to the one in Bahrain and it will be hotter this weekend. The 6.174 kilometre track boasts 27 corners, most of them high speed, making for an untypical street circuit, with a very high average speed. It’s a real challenge for teams and drivers, between the unforgiving walls.

Programme

Thursday

12.55 local: free practice

18.00 qualifying

Friday

18.10 Sprint Race

Saturday

16.25 Feature Race