Bearman misses out on FIA F3 championship title despite excellent performance in Monza

Heading into the final weekend of the FIA Formula 3 season, Oliver Bearman was fourth in the drivers’ standings, and despite picking up zero points in Zandvoort, the young Brit remained confident that the title was still in reach.

The weekend began fairly positively for the PREMA man, securing sixth place in qualifying, leaving him with every opportunity to fight his way to the front of the grid and overturn the deficit to Victor Martins in the lead of the championship.

Saturday’s sprint race once again reaped a significant reward for Bearman, as he made his way up to fifth after three laps, having started from seventh.

Bearman eventually made it up to fourth after safety car mayhem occurred during the race, and with two laps remaining he pulled off a stunning move to overtake Franco Colapinto and Jonny Edgar to claim second place and add another podium to his collection.

“I was getting ready to attack for the lead, but because of a hard-to-hear radio message, I didn’t realise that it was the final lap and I was taking the chequered flag just as I was thinking of attacking,” explained Bearman.

When Sunday’s feature race rolled around, Bearman knew it would be a difficult task to overthrow Martins and claim the Formula 3 title in his rookie season, however by lap ten, Bearman was already up into third place, and managed to take second from championship rival Victor Martins just two laps later.

However, on the next lap, the race was red flagged and then abandoned after damage to the barrier meant the race could not continue. This meant Bearman was unable to attempt a move for first place and put him in with a shot at the title, having to settle for second in the race and third in the championship.

Bearman has heavily impressed in his rookie season and the Ferrari driver Academy star will be hoping to make the step up to Formula 2 next season, and continue his journey in motorsport.