BEAR THRILLS
Chance of a lifetime as teenager Oliver starts for Ferrari
OLIVER BEARMAN admitted any feelings of pride were washed away with disappointment despite a stellar qualifying session as he made his Ferrari debut in Saudi Arabia.
The British teenager replaced Carlos Sainz for FP3 and qualifying on Friday, and will start 11th on the grid for his Grand Prix debut today.
Sainz (right) was feeling unwell heading into the weekend and was diagnosed with appendicitis before undergoing successful surgery.
Ferrari called upon Bearman, who was made an official reserve driver for the team at the start of the season.
Assessing his first competitive F1 session, he said: “At the moment I’m not so proud. The racer in me knows that the car was quick enough to be in Q3, so a bit disappointed with that.
“But I think when I look back in a couple of days I’ll be quite proud of what I’ve managed to do today.”
The 18-year-old had been set to start the
Formula Two feature race from pole position after topping qualifying on
Thursday.
Explaining the main challenges in stepping up from F2 machinery, Bearman said: “It’s especially the fact that the track is evolving so much.
“We do qualifying in F2 quite early on in the weekend so the track develops quite a lot. But the grip level is just incredible. After my first lap, I was shocked. In F2 you drive on the limit of the car. In F1, it’s the limit of the driver… it’s what the driver is prepared to do. That’s a great feeling but it takes some time to get used to, but super fun.” It wasn’t just the fans who were impressed by Bearman’s first qualifying as a Ferrari driver.
His new team-mate Charles Leclerc was full of praise for the young Brit (right), who adapted well on one of the toughest circuits on the F1 calendar.
“First of all I hope Carlos will recover quickly,” Leclerc said after qualifying on the front row.
“Then on Ollie’s side, I mean he has done an incredible job.
“With only one session in FP3 he was straight up to speed and comfortable with the car, so it’s good. I’m happy for him obviously. It’s a very special day and the first race in Ferrari having only done one session I guess is even more special. I hope we can have a great race – both of us
– and score good points for the team.”
Bearman can enjoy his Grand Prix debut without the fear of unrealistic expectations. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur refused to set targets for the teen ahead of today’s practice.
With Ferrari once again the second-fastest car on the grid, there will be plenty of opportunities for him to score his first points today.