Eddie Jordan is ‘sure’ that Carlos Sainz is telling himself to secure his seat on the 2025 Formula 1 grid quickly after Oliver Bearman’s debut for Ferrari in the Saudi Arabian GP.
Last weekend saw Bearman become the youngest-ever British driver to contest an F1 Grand Prix and the youngest-ever in a Ferrari. The Scuderia rushed to prepare the 18-year-old for a shock debut in Jeddah once Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis and he needed surgery.
Sainz tried to fight through feeling unwell and drove in the opening two practice sessions at the Saudi Arabian GP. It meant Ferrari only informed Bearman that he would be racing in F1, rather than F2 with Prema, at 13:30 local time (10:30 GMT) on Friday ahead of final practice.
Oliver Bearman impressed on his Ferrari debut after Carlos Sainz’s appendicitis surgery
Yet, despite Bearman only getting one hour-long practice session in the SF-24 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the Ferrari Driver Academy gem qualified P11 for the Saudi Arabian GP. He even only missed out on a spot in Q3 by 0.036 seconds to Mercedes legend Lewis Hamilton.
Bearman continued to impress in the race, too. The Chelmsford native remained calm amid pressure from experienced racers like Kevin Magnussen. He even showed his intelligence to finish in seventh place – ending the Saudi Arabian GP in front of Lando Norris and Hamilton.
Bearman is likely to now return to Prema for the F2 round at the Australian GP as Sainz had a successful operation for appendicitis. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has also said that he is ‘quite optimistic’ about Sainz returning to race in Melbourne on Sunday, March 24.
Carlos Sainz will now want to secure his 2025 Formula 1 seat amid talks with Mercedes
But Jordan believes seeing how Bearman stepped in and produced a strong drive in Jeddah will have convinced Sainz to find his seat on the 2025 grid quickly. Hamilton will replace the 29-year-old at Ferrari next year after quitting Mercedes for a multi-year Scuderia contract.
Jordan said on the Formula For Success podcast: “I’m sure that Carlos is sitting up in his bed, hopefully recovering at a very quick rate, and he’s saying to himself, ‘My god, I better get my seat sorted for ‘25 because there’s lots of very good young kids who can stand in.”
According to Corriere dello Sport, replacing Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025 is Sainz’s goal as he gets ready to leave Ferrari. The Spaniard’s dad, Carlos Sainz Sr, and his manager, Carlos Onorio, also spoke to Toto Wolff at length before the Saudi Arabian GP to start negotiations.
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