Bearman shares Antonelli 'curse' idea as F1 rumours swirl

Oliver Bearman believes the media attention he and fellow F2 racer Andrea Kimi Antonelli receive is both a "blessing and a curse."

Bearman and Antonelli are F2 team-mates at Prema in 2024 with Bearman already confirmed on next year's F1 grid with Haas.

Antonelli's future is yet to be decided, but he is widely expected to be announced at Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton's replacement when he leaves for Ferrari.

Both drivers have endured a tricky F2 season with the unpredictable Prema machine - however Bearman believes Antonelli is under more pressure than himself.

"It is a similar problem that we have," Bearman told media including RacingNews365. 

"Both Kimi and I, probably even Kimi more so than me, are spoken about in the media, especially because the results we're getting are not quite where we were expecting to be. 

"It doesn't make it easy, but that is part of life. 

"The media is always going to do that, and it is a bit of a blessing and a curse.

"It is about picking my battles correctly, and that type of approach, trying to maximise what you have, because that is what it is all about in the end."

Learning from poor F2 season

With results hard to come by in F2, Bearman also talked about how the situation has allowed him to mature as a driver and learn how to maximise results as he also prepares for his full-time debut in grand prix racing.

"If you have a car to finish P5, then you have to finish P5 and not finish seventh or eighth trying to go for more," he said.

"That is the mindset that I am working on, but by the same token, I really feel like we can win, and there is no reason why we can't fight for the podium a bit more often. 

"We just have to make a little step to get there, and I am going to be spending a lot of time on the simulator for my own benefit but also the team's [ahead of 2025].

"That is something I really want to pus on because a lot of the circuits will be new for me, so I want to make the transition as seamless as possible by spending a lot of time on the simulator."