The performances of Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix gave Haas and Williams much to take into consideration.
For Haas, Bearman’s pace in Baku was impressive – he matched team-mate Nico Hulkenberg to take a degree for tenth, becoming the primary driver in F1 history to attain points for 2 different teams in his first two appearances.
His recovery from his training accident has been removed from what you may imagine for a rookie, and the grins on the faces of the players within the garage throughout the weekend were testament to the synergy he has built through his development with the team ahead of a full-time start next season.
Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24, Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24
Photo: Dom Romney / Motorsport Images
Colapinto’s performance was largely comparable to Bearman’s, which caused Williams a little bit of a headache considering he is not going to be within the team next 12 months.
He overcame a training crash with none major problems, his blistering pace from the beginning of the weekend and the deserved points he scored on the identical pitch as his team-mate, on this case Alex Albon, showed why team boss James Vowles decided to exchange him with Logan Sargeant.
However, essentially the most pleased person might be the CEO of Formula 2 and Formula 3, Bruno Michel, who emphasised the effectiveness of the automobile pyramid, which is the premise of Formula 1 and helps drivers prepare for promotion.
“Ultimately, why is there this pyramid? It's to prepare drivers for Formula 1 and we want to make sure that when they come to F1, they're ready,” Michel explained.
“We saw what happened last weekend in Baku when two F2 drivers came into F1 and found their feet straight away, scoring points in their first race – well, it wasn't really their first race – but they're really starting to shine. [out]. This means the pyramid is working, and that's what really matters.”
Franco Colapinto of Williams Racing
Photo: Williams
This season, Formula 2 has modified the foundations to more closely resemble the cars utilized in Formula 1 and supply a greater challenge for drivers attempting to break into the highest division.
Formula 3 will make changes next 12 months, with the brand new automobile set to be unveiled on the season finale in Monza. Commenting on the advantages of the upgrade, Michel said: “We’re attempting to make certain that the evolution of F3 and F2 cars towards Formula 1 is correct and that drivers gain experience not only within the automobile but in addition in the entire Formula 1 environment during a race weekend.
“It's also concerning the format of the weekend, the incontrovertible fact that they're working in a special environment, that they’ve less time on target. There are lots of things that we do to arrange the drivers for F1, at the tip of the day. Of course, the tyres also play an enormous part within the progress of the drivers. So it's not only concerning the aerodynamics of the automobile, but in addition all of the systems that the automobile has.
“Drivers are beginning to work with the DRS system, with the environment that the FIA ​​is creating with race control, the race organisation system – drivers have to be prepared for all of these items, [so that] once they get to F1, they won't be completely lost.
“This is the most important thing we do, preparing drivers from F3 to F2 and from F2 to F1.”
