ESSEX boy Oliver Bearman has become Britain’s latest – and youngest – F1 star after making his debut for Ferrari.
The 18-year-old, who only passed his driving test in May, was called up as an 11th hour replacement for Carlos Sainz, who suffered appendicitis.
The Spaniard was taken to hospital where he underwent an operation as said to be recovering well.
Bearman only had an hour’s practice to get up to speed with the Ferrari before qualifying for Saturday’s Saudi Arabian GP.
And he defied the odds with a brilliant performance to take 11th on the grid – coming within just 0.036 seconds from knocking Lewis Hamilton out from qualifying.
Bearman made the slightest of mistakes during turns 22 and 23 otherwise he’d have dumped out Hamilton from the second qualifying session.
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He was cheered on by his dad, David, who watched in Ferrari’s garage and winced as his son brushed the walls at high speed and bounced over the kerbs.
And Bearman Junior revealed he was in the dark about his incredible call-up until the eleventh hour.
He said: “I woke up this morning fully prepared for my F2 race and I got the call late in the day, just a few hours before FP3 that I would be doing it.
“Not the circumstance I would wish to be making my F1 debut. I wish the best to Carlos and I hope he recovers well but this is a great opportunity.
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“I honestly did not have time to get nervous, because I did not have time and it was so late that I needed to get ready to go out on track and make up for lost time.
“That made my life a little more difficult and I was flat out with the engineers trying to figure everything out to get up to speed as quickly as possible.
Bearman drove for the Haas F1 team last season in the practice sessions in Mexico City and Abu Dhabi.
Raised in Chelmsford, and schooled at King Edward VI Grammar, he joined Ferrari’s driver academy, aged only 16.
He quit school – against his mum’s request and moved to Modena close to Ferrari’s headquarters in northern Italy.
He has previously won the Italian Formula Formula 4 and German Formula 4 titles , both in 2021.
Last year he was sixth in the Formula Two championship and on Thursday he qualified for the F2 race here in Saudi Arabia on pole.
However, he will now ditch his F2 commitments for this weekend after being promoted to replace Sainz.
Bearman is the first Brit to drive for F1’s most famous team since Nigel Mansell in 1990.
He added: “I have honestly spoken to no one since the announcement, my phone is going crazy but I will try and have a chat with my mum tonight.
“I think my dad was in the garage but I did not see him at all. I was in the car and then in the garage and back in the car.
” It has been such a quick progression in my career. Two years ago I was still in F4 and I only did my first F1 test three or four months ago.
“So it has been a quick progression. And to make my F1 debut in red, hopefully it is a sign to come.”
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen took a routine pole as nobody was able to match his pace around the street circuit in Jeddah.
He put aside the internal conflict between his dad Jos and team boss Christian Horner.
And in the latest development in the on-going saga, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko could now face disciplinary action.
The 80-year-old is understood to be under investigation for his role in the internal investigation.
He was also under strict instructions not to speak to the media, but in an interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF he said he could now miss the next race in Australia.
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It is another sensational development and should he be found guilty of releasing confidential information then he could face disciplinary action.
Should he be sacked, there is a suspicion in the paddock that it could trigger a clause in the Dutchman’s contract, paving a way for him to break his contract with Red Bull to join Mercedes.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
