Bearman made his full F1 debut in place of the appendicitis-addled Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Friday, jumping into an SF-24 with only FP3 to prepare ahead of qualifying on the high-speed, walled layout in the Red Sea coastal city.
He finished 11th in qualifying – knocked out in Q2 by just 0.036-seconds behind Lewis Hamilton.
“It's super hard to jump in on a track like this,” Verstappen said of Bearman’s performance on Friday.
“And I think what he has done has been very impressive.
“I was watching his first few laps in FP3, because that's where you can judge if someone is a bit comfortable or not in the car.
“And by lap two, lap three, I was like: 'Okay, that's a strong start'. I like to see that.
“To be P11, I think only at the time six tenths off pole [off Verstappen’s Q2 time], that is more than I think you could have asked from him.
“He's done an incredible job. And I hope he also enjoyed it a little bit out there because it's quite stressful when you come into a new team, basically a new car, and without any [F1] experience on this track.
Source: Autosport