After securing the pole in F2, Ferrari called the English driver to take up the spot of Carlos Sainz, who had been recently diagnosed with appendicitis.
The F1 world woke up on Saturday 9th to the news that Carlos Sainz had been diagnosed with appendicitis on Thursday afternoon. Fans were speculating about who would be his substitute, as Antonio Giovinazzi, former F1 driver, and Robert Schwartzman, F2 runner-up in 2021, were the favourites to take the seat. Still, they were never considering 18-year-old English driver, Ollie Bearman.
After taking the pole in F2 with his team, Prema Racing, he only had a few hours to prepare for what would turn into one of the teenager's best performances. During FP3, he showed that although he was the youngest driver on the grid, he could take the SF-24 to the top spots. Drivers like Alex Albon were surprised by the Englishman's performance, they praised him during the session.
Meanwhile, outside of the paddock, his performance became trendy among the fans of the sport, gaining a lot of attention and putting the driver in the spotlight while he was preparing for qualifying.
After being in the car for less than a day, he managed to get through Q1 without any problems, even being ahead of his teammate, Charles Leclerc, during some laps. When the chequered flag dropped at the end of Q2, he was 0.036s short to make it to Q3, which caused him to be disappointed with the result. While his teammate went on racing in Q3, Bearman started to get ready to race on Saturday.
After Saturday's statements, he focused on gaining as many positions as possible, and he hoped to battle with some of the sport's big names, such as Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso. After a few laps, he overtook Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hulkenberg, and his eye was set on getting closer to his teammate. Despite not knowing much about the Pirelli tyres, he did a great job at managing them, which allowed him to resist the pressure from Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris after they had put the soft tyre.
His brief appearance in F1 was consolidated with a seventh position and being appointed driver of the day, which earned him compliments all over the paddock and praises from well-known drivers.
“It’s been super impressive to see him so fast straight away. It's super nice to see him so happy all weekend and so excited as he was, and he’s done an amazing job.”
Charles Leclerc to F1 TV
The Jeddah circuit is considered one of the calendar's most technical and faster circuits, making it difficult to overtake, especially since the walls are close to the track. Some experts say that Ollie Bearman was "unlucky to be chosen during this race weekend to replace Carlos". But his performance throughout the weekend has gained him a place in the sport.
With Ferrari yet to release a statement regarding Sainz’s assistance to the Australian GP, fans wonder if the Briton deserves a permanent seat in the grid. With most of the drivers' contracts expiring at the end of the year, would there be a possibility for the teenager to obtain one of those seats?
