The teenager’s impressive drive to seventh place when he deputised for Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in Jeddah has inevitably led many observers to assume he will be promoted to a Haas race seat in 2025.
Bearman drove for the US outfit in two FP1 sessions last season and he has a programme of six practice session outings lined up for this year.
However, Hulkenberg believes Bearman should focus on his immediate job in F2 rather than be distracted by the prospect of a promotion to F1.
“I think it's very early and way too early to say that,” he noted, when asked by Autosport if he felt he was potentially in a race with team-mate Kevin Magnussen to secure a seat alongside Bearman.
“I think he's got a big job on his hands in F2 first of all, because otherwise, if he's not doing well there this Jeddah race is going to be forgotten in two days. You know how this business works.
“So I think quite a bit of pressure on him there to deliver now in F2, actually.”
Responding to the suggestion that it is more important for a young driver to shine when handed an F1 chance, he said: “Yeah, of course, as always if you get an opportunity, you have to make it work, and he did that in Jeddah 100%.
Source: Autosport