It's not every day that you have to take the place of a Formula 1 driver during a World Championship grand prix. He happens even less to replace one of the two Ferrari owners. All this will happen today to Oliver Bearman, a driver who is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and who is one of the main favorites for the FIA Formula 2 title racing with the Prema team.
Born in 2005 in Chelmsford, Essex, Ollie – as they call him by abbreviating his first name – will take the place of Carlos Sainz Jr. in the Ferrari SF-24 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix held in this weekend at the Jeddah track. The 18-year-old, making his debut in Formula 1, will race with the number 38, becoming the 776th driver to race in the top open-wheel series and the 97th to do so for the Scuderia di Maranello. Sainz was forced to withdraw due to appendicitis which will require him to undergo surgery.
This is the same situation already experienced 2 years ago by Alexander Albon in Monza, when he had to leave the wheel of his Williams to Nyck De Vries (who also finished in the points after an excellent race, deserving the contract with AlphaTauri for the year next. But that's another story).
From this year, Bearman is part of the shortlist of drivers who have the task of being a reserve for Ferrari and the Haas team together with Antonio Giovinazzi and Robert Shwarzman, both involved last weekend in the WEC, at the wheel of two Ferrari 499Ps LMh.
In his young career, Bearman has recorded respectable results. He started karting in 2013 at a local level, before starting to race at a national level. The first important victory came in 2017, taking home the Kartmasters British Grand Prix, followed two years later by success in the IAME European series and in 2020 in the IAME International.
His single-seater career began in the year in which the COVID-19 pandemic exploded in Europe, i.e. 2020. He took part in the ADAM Formula 4 championship with US Racing, winning the first race at Hockenheim. In his debut season he scored poles and podiums, finishing sixth overall. His debut in Italian Formula 4 was also very good, in which he clashed with the Sicilian Gabriele Minì.
In 2021 he triumphed in the ADAC Formula 4 racing with the van Amersfoort Racing team. He always repeats the same season, also bringing home the Italian Formula 4 with 11 victories, 8 poles and as many podiums.
In 2022 here is the leap into FIA Formula 3 with the Prema team. Bearman takes one victory and 8 podiums, closing the season in third place overall and second best rookie of the season. This earned him a call to the Ferrari Driver Academy, becoming one of the most interesting prospects for Maranello. In 2023 he moved to FIA Formula 2 again with Prema. After an uncertain start, Oliver scored 4 victories, 3 pole positions and 2 podium finishes, finishing sixth.
This season Bearman always races in FIA F2 with Prema and this weekend in Jeddah he managed to score a great pole position for the Feature Race. The emergency that arose in Ferrari with Sainz knocked out by appendicitis led the Prancing Horse team to recall him and take the Madrid native's place.
This means that Oliver will be forced to miss the remaining FIA Formula 2 events, thus throwing away the pole obtained splendidly yesterday. Perhaps, however, this is the best way to throw away a pole position…
Fortunately for the Brit it will not be the first time at the wheel of a Formula 1 car. Last year Bearman took part in 2 free practice sessions with the Haas team at the Mexican and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, setting times very close to those of teammates (Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg). In January this year, Oliver also took part in a test session organized by Ferrari at the wheel of an F1-75, the single-seater that raced and won grand prizes in the 2022 Formula 1 season. He did it together to the starting drivers and Arthur Leclerc.
Finally, if you were unsure, the pronunciation of his surname is not the same as the word “beer” in English. The “e” in Bearman must be heard.
Oliver Bearman, Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
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