How 2024's star cameos gave a preview to F1's future

The cameos from Ollie Bearman, Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson were an undeniable highlight of the Formula 1 season. They also were a timely reminder that, after a winter of no driver changes for 2024, there is plenty of young talent waiting in the wings.

Arguably the most impressive, despite being limited to just three races, were the performances of Bearman. Just four years ago, he was racing karts and it has been an astronomical rise up the motorsport ladder, leading to his sensational debut in Jeddah for Ferrari.

The East London-born Ferrari protege received an eleventh-hour phone call to deputise for Carlos Sainz, who was suffering appendicitis at March’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Bearman, who had taken pole position for the Formula 2 feature race before Sainz was sidelined, was hugely impressive as he took it all in his stride, despite no preparation, to become the third-youngest driver in F1 history while driving for its most-famous team.

He showed a maturity that was refreshing and reinvigorated a weekend that had been overrun by the negativity surrounding the Christian Horner investigation and subsequent fallout at Red Bull. Bearman qualified 11th and finished in the points, coming home seventh in the Ferrari SF-24.

His performance grabbed the headlines in finishing ahead of fellow British drivers Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, and it was enough to convince Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu that he should take Bearman full-time into the team next season. Komatsu had already been sufficiently won over by Bearman’s attention to detail as well as his speed, but it was his composure that impressed, with the Japanese praising the youngster’s “maturity” and “ability to understand the bigger picture” by working through programmes during his FP1 sessions.

Bearman was confirmed for 2025 ahead of the British GP, and he would get to make his full Haas debut at the Azerbaijan GP in September as replacement for Kevin Magnussen, who was handed a one-race ban for an accumulation of penalty points on his licence. Unlike his whirlwind spell at Ferrari in Jeddah, Bearman was in the Haas for the full weekend.

After being dropped in at the deep end in Jeddah by Ferrari, Bearman impressed sufficiently to earn a seat with Haas for 2025

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

He used that experience of the race in Saudi, plus his four FP1 sessions with Haas, to outqualify team-mate Nico Hulkenberg but was upset at a lock-up in Q2, which cost him a chance of qualifying in the top 10. In the race, Bearman battled with Hamilton for a spot in the points before finishing in 10th place.

A third opportunity came at the Brazilian GP when Magnussen was again sidelined, this time with an illness. Supersub Bearman got a call early Friday morning informing him that he would again be deputising for the sick Dane. He finished the sprint race in 14th while, in tricky conditions for Sunday’s race, he finished 12th after several incidents and a penalty.

While Bearman’s F1 cameos were unexpected, there was a sense of inevitability surrounding the opportunity handed to Colapinto at Williams. Logan Sargeant’s position was called into question as early as the third race of the year when the squad handed team-mate Alex Albon his car for the Australian GP to replace the one Albon had crashed during FP1.

While Colapinto’s position for 2025 hangs in the balance following some recent crashes, Lawson has found himself in the box seat to replace underperforming Sergio Perez at Red Bull

Williams boss James Vowles had seemingly driven a nail into the American’s F1 career when he commented that the car was being commandeered for Albon because “based on our best potential to score points”. The writing was on the wall and, after accidents in Japan, Miami, Canada and the Netherlands, Williams had seen enough – and swapped him for Colapinto.

The 21-year-old Argentinian therefore called time on an F2 season in which he had shown glimpses of his ability, such as winning the Imola sprint race. He made a solid start in the Italian GP at Monza to finish 12th, while in Azerbaijan he scored an impressive eighth place. An 11th in Singapore followed by a top-10 at Austin earned more plaudits and the suggestion within the paddock that he was wanted by Red Bull and Alpine.

As with Bearman’s introduction in Jeddah, Colapinto’s arrival gave a lift in the form of some passionate support. Speaking at an Autosport Business panel at Austin, Vowles said he wanted to see Colapinto on the grid in 2025, even if it could not be with Williams, which had already signed Carlos Sainz to partner Albon.

“The best I can really tell you is we’re actively working with teams that are interested to try and find the right arrangement that helps Franco, that protects Franco as well and protects all parties,” said Vowles. “It’s never straightforward between Formula 1 teams, because you’re fighting on track and you’re trying to find a solution for a career of a young man.

Colapinto twice scored points with Williams after impressing Sargeant, but Sainz's arrival means he won't have a seat at the team next year

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

“He’s doing an outstanding job on track and as I’ve said from the very beginning, earn your position and elements will come your way. But beyond there, I think especially when we look at the fact he’s a 21-year-old and my responsibility is also towards him and making sure we do the right thing, I want to make sure that when we have news [we will] come to the world, but there really isn’t much to talk about.”

While Colapinto’s position for 2025 hangs in the balance following some recent crashes, Lawson has found himself in the box seat to replace underperforming Sergio Perez at Red Bull. The New Zealander had bided his time on the sidelines watching Daniel Ricciardo underdeliver in the RB week after week until the Aussie was taken out of the cockpit after September’s Singapore GP.

While fans lamented Ricciardo’s exit, at the following race in Austin Lawson wasted no time in trying to impress. He received a ticking off from Fernando Alonso during the Saturday sprint race, with the Aston Martin man referring to him as “an idiot” over his team’s radio before some face-to-face confrontation. But Lawson is understood to have impressed his paymasters by standing toe to toe with the two-time world champion and would not back down in their war of words.

“He said he would screw me,” said Lawson, “and I guess he kept his word. He was really upset. I’m not sure why – we were racing for P16. Hopefully he can get over it and we’ll move forward. I understand he had a pretty horrible race. But if I did anything wrong I’d have got a penalty.”

At the following race in Mexico, Lawson gave Perez the middle finger as they battled and ultimately came to blows on lap 19. Red Bull took a dim view of the damage he had caused to the local hero’s car, but secretly it is believed that its bosses were happy with Lawson’s fighting spirit.

PLUS: An attempt at choosing Verstappen's 2025 Red Bull team-mate

Indeed, perhaps the biggest factor behind his push for a place in Red Bull’s senior squad is not his excellent runs at Austin and in Brazil, where he finished ninth on both occasions, but the fact that he is liked by Max Verstappen and his father Jos. Verstappen Sr gushed about Lawson, saying “it seemed logical that he is ready to step up”. And if Red Bull wants to keep on getting the best out of Verstappen Jr, then keeping him happy with a points-scoring number two driver is perhaps the best way forward.

After replacing Ricciardo at RB, Lawson has made a decent case for promotion to Red Bull

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Williams and the cost of crashing

Williams team principal James Vowles looked a discombobulated figure as he left Las Vegas’s Harry Reid International Airport following the conclusion of the GP. So much so that, as he took his place in the queue to board the delayed flight, he forgot one of his items of hand luggage.

It was of course understandable. The horrific timing of events in Vegas works for nobody and, coupled with jetlag, means you are only getting about four or five hours of sleep per day.

Vowles, who was reunited with his bag before boarding, had a lot on his mind after seeing yet another huge crash for his team when Franco Colapinto registered a whopping 50G impact – just one of 16 high-profile crashes of a season in which his cars only scored 17 points.

Alex Albon and Colapinto, plus the shortened season for Logan Sergeant, depleted Williams’s budget to the point where it was required to eat into the reserves for the 2025 season. Unconfirmed reports circulated that the team was borrowing parts from engine supplier Mercedes simply to make it to the finish line in Abu Dhabi.

The strain on Vowles was evident when he spoke before the penultimate race in Qatar: “There’s no doubt about it – I think teams aren’t built to take what is six major crashes.

“Generally speaking, we’ll hold a stock of parts that’s about four, maybe five, of each component. That’s about where you want to be, so it doesn’t take long to figure out that once you crash five or six of them, you’re in trouble.”

So, is Williams in trouble? Potentially yes. It’s no coincidence that, as the spare parts have run dry, Williams failed to score points – its last was in Austin in October.

“We’re trying to contain it as much as possible to this year so that we’re not hurting next year’s programme,” Vowles told Sky. “But when you’re at those sorts of numbers, it means you’re not focusing on adding performance and focusing on the future.”

A huge 50G shunt in Las Vegas for Colapinto didn't help the crash damage bill at Williams

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images