Ollie Bearman is keen to move on after a lack of pace and a vital mistake left him struggling down the field.

The 17-year-old driver was optimistic post-qualifying in second place for the Feature Race. However, soon after the start, he compromised his race with a spin.

Bearman began the Sprint Race on Saturday from 8th but soon retired due to contact with Théo Pourchaire.

Ollie remained hopeful for the Feature Race and during the opening lap, seized the opportunity to take the lead into Turn 1. An early VSC meant the Brit could pull away a 1.9 second lead ahead of the rest of the field.

“In the first stint, I was fairly happy, and the guys made a good pit-stop as well so I got back on track in the lead” He said.

He fought closely with Martins, after the gap closed again and on Lap 7, both drivers entered the pits. A strong pit stop from PREMA Racing but a slight struggle from ART Grand Prix left no opportunity for a change in order as they exited the pits. Bearman entered back onto the track in eighth, ready to fight the cars ahead on a different strategy.

Martins breezed past Bearman on Lap 11 , leaving him with his PREMA team mate Frederik Vesti gaining behind.

On Lap 16, the vital mistake from the young driver resulted in a spin across the track, fortunately missing any contact with the walls or another car. This left him in P11, out of the points with struggling tyres.

“The potential was there, just a mistake on my side which compromised the result. Sorry for the team, we’ll try to bounce back in Melbourne” He added.

Fellow PREMA driver Frederik Vesti finished in first, whilst Bearman finished tenth. The two look ahead now to Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia for Round 3 of the 2023 Formula 2 Season.

Image: Formula Motorsport Limited