Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz‘s sudden case of appendicitis following Thursday’s (March 7) practice sessions for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix paved the way for 18-year-old Formula 2 regular Oliver Bearman to make a shock Formula 1 debut for the Scuderia.
With only one practice session in the SF-24 around the challenging Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the Briton was able to qualify 11th and finish the Grand Prix in a solid seventh place, handily holding off his countrymen Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps. Bearman was the talk of the paddock, with everyone seeming to have something positive to say about the young pilot’s future in the series.
But the F1 driver market isn’t so simple. The Pit Straight co-hosts Alex Gintz and Jack Swansey reunite to identify some of the obstacles that stand between Bearman and one of the 20 most fought-over contracts in motorsports.
The Pit Straight is Frontstretch‘s open-wheel racing podcast, available during the racing season weekly on Tuesdays on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and right here on the web.
About the author
Jack Swansey primarily covers open-wheel racing for Frontstretch and co-hosts The Pit Straight Podcast,but you can also catch him writing about NASCAR, sports cars, and anything else with four wheels and a motor. Originally from North Carolina and now residing in Los Angeles, he joined the site as Sunday news writer midway through 2022 and is an avid collector (some would say hoarder) of die-cast cars.
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.