EXCLUSIVE: Inside Ferrari's secretive scouting camp that found 2024 debutant

Ollie Bearman, Ferrari's super-sub for Saudi Arabia, has jumped back into the cockpit in Imola.

The British teenager completed his first FP1 of 2024 after making his Formula 1 debut after a last-minute FP3 appearance in Jeddah.

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Italy is familiar territory, too, after first catching Ferrari's eye in 2021 at their secretive scouting camp that led to the Scuderia picking him up.

GPFans held an exclusive interview with the latest winner of Ferrari's multi-day junior driver assessment to find out what happens behind the scenes at the Maranello event.

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More than only driving

Dutch teenager Rene Lammers won last year's camp and revealed what it's like to have Prancing Horse involvement at such a young age.

"Just being at Maranello itself is just an amazing experience," began Lammers before continuing to say, "To be there near the Ferrari factory and the Ferrari workshop, etc. is really cool.

"Also, driving around Fiorano... obviously a very legendary track. Overall, it was just an amazing experience and did a lot of good for me. It was definitely not just driving; I'd say driving was the least part. [There were] some mental tests, some reaction tests, and then some memory tests.

"We did also some physical tests, and we did some sim sessions. Then we got to the driving, but yeah, a lot of off-driving activities."

Ferrari running junior program not easy

Lammers is the son of the F1 driver with the record for the longest gap between races, Jan Lammers.

The elder Lammers explained, "They want to evaluate and see... the personal side, intellectual side, the physical side. It's basically like a recording of where they [the drivers] are and, most of all, the details.

"They just try to get an opinion about the total picture of the driver. To run a junior program is not an easy thing; you have parents and drivers from all angles of the world, from all different backgrounds.

"For all you know, the father can be a banker and has nothing to do with racing, or from God knows what background.

"We are fortunate that not only do I have a racing background, but all my friends around me, you know, there's a lot of people there that sometimes can give good advice to Rene."

Lammers will look to emulate Bearman by winning Formula 4 this year.

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