Oliver Bearman, an 18-year-old British driver, got the surprise of his life when he was asked to replace Carlos Sainz at Ferrari for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Sainz, the regular Ferrari driver, had to undergo surgery for appendicitis on Friday, leaving a vacant seat for the weekend.
Bearman, who is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and a reserve driver for the team, had no prior experience of driving the Ferrari SF23H car or the Jeddah street circuit. He had only participated in two practice sessions for Haas in Mexico and Abu Dhabi last season, and was preparing to race in Formula 2 as usual.
However, he rose to the challenge and impressed everyone with his performance in the final practice and qualifying sessions on Friday. He finished 10th in the practice and 11th in the qualifying, just missing out on the top 10 shootout by a fraction of a second. He also outpaced seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who qualified 12th after a crash.
The youngest Briton to race in F1
Bearman, who turns 19 in May, will become the youngest Briton to race in a Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday. He will also be the third-youngest driver in F1 history, behind Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll. He will also be the ninth Briton to drive for Ferrari, following in the footsteps of legends such as Mike Hawthorn, John Surtees, and Eddie Irvine.
Bearman, who hails from Chelmsford in Essex, started karting at the age of eight and won several national and international titles. He moved to single-seater racing in 2021 and dominated the Italian and German Formula 4 championships, winning 24 races out of 42. He then graduated to Formula 3 in 2022 and finished third in his rookie season, behind the highly-rated duo of Victor Martins and Zane Maloney. He won four races in his maiden Formula 2 season in 2023, finishing sixth in the standings. He is currently the teammate of Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli at Prema in F2.
The praise from Ferrari and the fans
Bearman received high praise from his Ferrari teammate and main driver Charles Leclerc, who qualified second behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Leclerc said that Bearman had done an “incredible job” and was “straight up to speed and comfortable with the car”. He added that he hoped they could both have a great race and score strong points for the team.
Bearman also won the admiration of the fans, who voted him as the driver of the day on the official F1 website. He received 38% of the votes, ahead of Verstappen (25%) and Leclerc (15%). Many fans commented on his remarkable performance and wished him luck for the race.
Bearman himself said that he was “a bit disappointed” with his qualifying result, as he felt he could have made it to the top 10. He also said that he was “not so proud” of his achievement, as he was a racer and wanted to do better. However, he admitted that he would be “quite proud” of what he had done when he looked back in a few days. He also thanked Ferrari for the opportunity and said he felt sorry for Sainz, whom he wished a speedy recovery.
The race ahead
Bearman will face a tough challenge in the race, as he will have to contend with the tricky and fast Jeddah circuit, which has been dubbed as the “world’s fastest street track”. He will also have to deal with the pressure of driving for one of the most prestigious and successful teams in F1 history, as well as the expectations of the fans and the media. He will also have to cope with the physical and mental demands of racing for 50 laps in the desert heat.
However, he will also have a chance to make history and prove himself as one of the brightest talents in motorsport. He will have the opportunity to score his first F1 points, or even a podium, if he can avoid mistakes and capitalize on the misfortunes of others. He will also have the chance to impress Ferrari and other teams, who may consider him for a future seat in F1.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will start at 5pm local time (2pm GMT) on Saturday, March 9, 2024. It will be the second race of the season, following the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was won by Verstappen. The race will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 and other channels around the world.
