Oliver Bearman prepared to bid farewell to his Prema “family” with victory in Saturday’s Formula 2 sprint race in Qatar in his penultimate weekend with Prema.
Driver and team have been partnered since 2022, joining forces in Formula 3 before keeping the partnership alive for a brace of seasons in the direct feeder series for F1.
Bearman’s victory in the sprint race, his eighth for Prema and third of the year, triggered heightened emotions in the 19-year-old with his voice cracking as he fought to hold back tears on the cooldown lap.
Asked by Autosport why this success had struck such an emotional chord, Bearman explained: “I have three races left with Prema and when I joined Prema I was probably 20cm shorter and a lot less mature.
“I joined as a kid basically and now moving into F1 next year, Prema has really shaped me into the driver and even the person that I am today.
“It’s been my family. Knowing that I’m leaving them, I’ve made so many good relationships there with so many people and it’s always sad to say goodbye.
“I usually get quite emotional about things like this, so I think Abu Dhabi will be difficult.
“I realise it’s a win and they don’t come that easily, and hopefully it’s not the last one but it could be, and it was a hard moment.
“I’m really happy to have worn the Prema badge and I’m going to miss them.”
Bearman’s success puts him one away from matching joint win record holders Artem Markelov, Nyck de Vries and Felipe Drugovich on eight trips to the top step of the podium.
Out of the championship picture after a tough start in the all-new Dallara F2 2024 and missing two rounds fulfilling reserve duties for Ferrari and Haas in F1, Bearman reflected: “That [record] would be nice, but I’m not going to win the championship so it doesn’t really matter. Plus, I’ve only won sprint races this year so it’s not been the wins I’d been hoping for.
“I don’t really care about the stats, I just want to finish on a good note with Prema because I love them all.”
