Ferrari have confirmed that Oliver Bearman will now replace Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP, so here is everything you need to know before his Formula 1 debut.
The Scuderia announced on Friday morning that Sainz will miss the rest of the Saudi Arabian GP weekend. He has been diagnosed with appendicitis after feeling unwell earlier this week and requires surgery. Sainz also cancelled his media duties on Wednesday to try to recover.
Sainz managed to contest free practice one and two on Thursday and ended his day with the seventh-fastest lap. The 29-year-old set a 1:29.455 during his 26 laps in FP2, 0.275 seconds slower than his teammate Charles Leclerc. But Sainz will step aside as Bearman debuts in F1.
Oliver Bearman will replace Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP
Speaking after FP2 on Thursday, Sainz admitted that his illness made practice ‘very difficult’ after driving the SF-24. The Spaniard endured a ‘tough and difficult’ previous 24 hours, and he has now been diagnosed with appendicitis. Sainz may try to return at the Australian GP.
Bearman will step up from his role as Ferrari’s reserve driver to replace Sainz, having been at the Saudi Arabian GP for his Formula 2 duties. The 18-year-old will take no further part in F2 in Jeddah to debut in Formula 1. He was due to start the F2 Feature race from pole position.
The Briton posted a 1:42.217 lap time in Formula 2’s qualifying session on Thursday to beat Alpine junior Kush Maini for pole. Bearman eclipsed the Indian driver by just 0.025 seconds after acing his penultimate flyer. But who is Bearman, the driver replacing Sainz at Ferrari?
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Who is Oliver Bearman?
Oliver Bearman – commonly known as Ollie Bearman – is a British racer and Ferrari’s reserve driver, currently competing in F2 for Prema. He joined the Ferrari Driver Academy at only 16 years old in 2021. Ferrari later announced Bearman as their reserve driver in January 2024.
Bearman already owns a slice of Formula 1 history as the youngest British driver to enter an official F1 Grand Prix weekend session. Haas ran Bearman in FP1 at the 2023 Mexico City GP and again in FP1 at the 2023 Abu Dhabi GP. He finished P15 in Mexico and P20 in Abu Dhabi.
McLaren driver Lando Norris previously held the record as Britain’s youngest driver to enter an official F1 session. While Bearman’s childhood hero was former McLaren driver and 2009 F1 champion, Jenson Button. He looked up to how the Frome-born driver tackled his racing.
Oliver Bearman started racing aged eight
For Bearman, his racing career started at the age of eight in a club race when he first tried a go-kart. His passion for racing soon took hold and his talent also came to the fore at a young age. Bearman took fourth on debut in the Kartmasters British Grand Prix, Honda Cadet class.
His first title soon followed in the 2017 edition, too, after finishing second in 2016 and in the Super 1 National Championship in both years. X30 Junior class honours also followed in the IAME Winter Cup, Euro Series and International Final in 2019 as Bearman rose up the ranks.
Bearman only switched into single-seaters in 2020 when he entered the Italian and German Formula 4 championships. Yet he took both titles in 2021, including taking 11 wins from 21 races in the Italian series. Bearman also finished third in the 2022 Formula 3 championship.
Challenging for the F3 title in his rookie year with Prema saw Bearman graduate into F2 with the Italian team in 2023, as well. It only took him four rounds to secure the Briton’s first win by sealing the Sprint and Feature race double at the 2023 Azerbaijan GP round in Baku, too.
How old is Oliver Bearman? What is the Ferrari reserve driver’s age?
At the time of writing, Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman is 18 years old. He was born on May 8, 2005 to parents dad, David Bearman, and mum, Terri Bearman. His father, uncle and grandad have also competed in motorsport to varying levels and varying levels of success.
Bearman also has a younger brother called Thomas, who is currently racing in go-karts. The brothers also both use the #87 as their permanent race number as their father used it at the club level from their respective birthdays. Bearman also has a younger sister called Amelie.
Where was Oliver Bearman born?
Oliver Bearman was born in Chelmsford, Essex in England – which recorded a population of 181,500 residents as of the 2021 census – an increase of 7.8% on the 2011 total of 168,300.
How good is Oliver Bearman?
Oliver Bearman has shown a competitive streak and winning ability in every championship that he has so far entered. Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu also praised Bearman at the 2023 Mexico City GP, having exceeded the American team’s expectations on his FP1 debut.
“Not that my expectation was low, but that was so professional,” Komatsu said, via Reuters, whilst Haas’ trackside engineering director. “He didn’t put a foot wrong.
“The communication and the feedback were really good, as well. So, really, I’ve got nothing to complain about. It was a really impressive FP1.”
Oliver Bearman’s junior single-seater career stats
Oliver Bearman stayed with Prema for the 2024 FIA Formula 2 championship after finishing the 2023 standings in sixth place. He first joined the team in 2022 to contest the Formula 3 championship. While Ferrari promoted Bearman to his reserve driver role in January 2024.
2020 ADAC Formula 4: 21 races, 1 win, 0 poles
2020 Italian Formula 4: 8 races, 1 win, 0 poles
2021 ADAC Formula 4: 18 races, 6 wins, 5 poles
2021 Italian Formula 4: 21 races, 11 wins, 8 poles
2021 GB3 Championship: 9 races, 1 win, 2 poles
2022 FIA Formula 3: 18 races, 1 win, 0 poles
2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship: 6 races, 0 wins, 0 poles
2023 FIA Formula 2: 26 races, 4 wins, 3 poles
2024 FIA Formula 2: 2 races, 0 wins, 1 pole
Related Topics
Carlos SainzFerrariFormula 2Oliver BearmanSaudi Arabian Grand Prix
