Vasseur outlines main 'difficulty' with F1 hopeful

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has outlined one of the main difficulties teams face when running rookies in Formula 1.

Under the current rules teams are obliged to run rookie drivers during at least two FP1 sessions during the year, for a driver that has completed fewer than two Grands Prix.

This is because of the strict limits on the amount of testing that teams are allowed to complete in-season with current cars, with the additional Sprint race weekends also making it difficult.

Ferrari has already provided their official reserve driver, Robert Shwartzman, with an outing at the Dutch GP in place of Carlos Sainz.

Technical partner Haas will run Ferrari Academy Driver and F2 racer, Oliver Bearman, in its two remaining slots at upcoming races in Mexico and Abu Dhabi.

Bearman recently completed his first F1 test with Ferrari at the team's Fiorano circuit on Wednesday, behind the wheel of the SF-21 car from the 2021 season.

Vasseur: Step high with F1 due to lack of testing

When asked whether Bearman will continue in the F1 feeder series, Vasseur told media, including RacingNews365: "2024 he will do F2 again.

"The general programme is that the step is quite high with F1 because we have no testing anymore, we have more and more sprint events with just one FP1.

"We have three tests during the winter, it means that it's quite difficult to adapt to the F1 and the rookies not always successful.

"I think Oscar [Piastri] did a very good job also because he had one year of preparation last year and he was already used to the F1.

"We have to prepare in advance and it's why we give him two FP1s this season with us and probably much more next year and we will prepare him for the future.

"So far, he's doing a very good job in the junior series, but we know that it's a long way."