Oliver Bearman wearing Ferrari teamwear at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Image: Getty Images)
Oliver Bearman has expressed his disappointment at being denied the opportunity to drive Formula 1 machinery at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The British driver, who is set to race full-time for Haas next season, was scheduled to drive for his new team in the post-season test following the final race of the season.
However, despite never having held a full-time F1 seat before, he no longer qualifies as a rookie in the eyes of the FIA due to his three races in the sport this year. Instead, Haas will field reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa in the rookie portion of the test, thanks to a deal organised through their new partnership with Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Bearman has been limited to his usual Formula 2 racing at the Yas Marina Circuit. He secured a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s sprint and added a fifth-place finish in the feature race, ensuring a solid points haul for the season.
However, he expressed frustration over being denied participation in the post-season test to gain more experience with Haas F1 machinery. The Brit pointed out that Fernando Alonso was allowed to drive in the ‘young driver’ test in 2020 despite his extensive F1 experience, due to a two-year absence from the sport.
Bearman said: “If we go back a few years, Alonso did the rookie test after having won two world championships. I’ve only done two races, I’ve scored points twice and he has two world championships, but he was able to do the rookie test.”
Ryo Hirakawa will drive a McLaren in FP1 on Friday and then test for Haas next week (Image: Getty Images)
Alonso was granted permission by the FIA to participate in that test for Alpine after the team requested it from the governing body. The rules stipulate that any driver with two years of “inactivity” in F1 can participate in the test as a ‘rookie’.