Bearman reveals details over late Haas F1 call-up

Oliver Bearman has revealed how he was informed he would replace Kevin Magnussen at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Haas confirmed on Friday that Magnussen would be sidelined for the day with reserve driver Bearman taking over driving duties.

After the day of on-track action, the American squad confirmed Bearman would remain in the car for the entire weekend.

Bearman detailed he was woken up early by a phone call from team principal Ayao Komatsu who informed him he would be getting back behind the wheel. 

“Ayao woke me up in the morning at like 06:30 with his call,” Bearman said.

“When I saw his name, I wasn’t so mad. If it was my mum or something, not realising the time difference, I would have been a bit more angry!

“Of course, I give my best to Kevin, because I know he’s feeling bad and he has had a lot of success on this track – he did pole here. But, of course, I’m very happy to jump back in the F1 car and it’s always a pleasure.”

Bearman enjoyed a strong outing during the sprint qualifying session and is set to start the sprint race from 10th on the grid.

“The car was feeling really good all day,” he reflected. 

“From the first lap I did in Q1 I had a great feeling. I’m happy to be in SQ3 and finally make it to the third stage of a qualifying session.

“I just did a little mistake in Sector 1, which cost me a lot of time. The rest of the lap was really, really good, so I’m a bit disappointed.”