Lewis Hamilton has heaped praise on Oliver Bearman following his shock Formula 1 qualifying debut in Saudi Arabia, saying that “there was no way I was ready at 18.”
Bearman has taken the place of Carlos Sainz for this race weekend in Jeddah, with the Spaniard recovering after being taken to hospital for an appendicitis operation.
After acclimatising in FP3, Bearman finished a fine 11th in qualifying, narrowly being beaten to Q3 by seven-time World Champion Hamilton to the tune of just 0.036s.
The debutant impressed many in the F1 paddock, including Hamilton, who said Bearman “did such a great job!
“Obviously I was really sad to hear that Carlos [Sainz] had an issue but I’ve heard he came through the operation,” he continued.
“To have to jump in without doing [much] practice, like he has, it was mega, I’m really impressed.
“It just shows what talent he is. I know how tough it was but he got confidence on it straight away.
“There was no way I was ready for Formula 1 at 18.
“The times are different, you progress faster but I was in Formula 3 when I was 18.”
Hamilton, who will follow in Bearman’s footsteps by racing for Ferrari next year, commented that Saturday’s race will be a “massive challenge” for the rookie but added that “he’s got a good car that could look after the tyres.”
One person who will know what it’s like to make an F1 debut as a teenager is reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, who also heaped praise on Bearman, the first Englishman to race for the Scuderia since Nigel Mansell in 1990.
The Dutchman noted that making a debut on the high-speed, high-risk Jeddah layout is “super hard,” but said Bearman’s efforts were “very, very impressive.
“To be P11, only 6 tenths off pole, that is more than I think you could have asked from him,” Verstappen said.
“He’s done an incredible job, I hope he enjoyed it a little bit, it’s quite stressful when you come into a new car without any experience.
“Hopefully he is happy with it himself, because I think everyone within the paddock has seen that he did a great job.”
Fernando Alonso was en route to his first F1 title the year Bearman was born (2005), which the Spaniard claimed was “crazy”.
“He is a great driver, very talented, this is not the easiest track to make your debut but he did fantastically well today and I think he will have a strong race tomorrow,” Alonso added.
Sergio Perez also noted how the Jeddah layout presents an imposing challenge for any F1 rookie as he piled on the praise toward the newest driver to drive for the marque.
“It’s a place where you don’t want to get the call to do your debut because it’s one of the most challenging places,” the Mexican driver admitted.
“The one that you have to take the most risk, the one that you have to be the most confident with the car, with the balance.
“So, yeah, big respect for what he has achieved today. I think he has done a really strong job.
“It just shows how well-prepared he is for the opportunity. So well done to him.”
“Really impressed from Ollie, I watched him in Formula 2, I remember watching his laps in Mexico last year,” added Geroge Russell.
“I thought he was driving really well and he definitely exceeded my expectations.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc got to witness Bearman’s F1 baptism of fire first-hand and like his fellow Grand Prix winners, could only be complimentary of the teenager’s performance.
“First of all, I wish Carlos [Sainz] the speediest recovery and for Ollie, he has done an incredible job,” Leclerc commented during the post-qualifying press conference.
“Not having done FP1, FP2 is quite a big disadvantage and straight away in FP3, he was on it.
“It was good to see and I’m sure that it’s a very, very special weekend for him.
“I remember my first race in Formula One and I wasn’t in Ferrari and I had some months to prepare for that so I cannot imagine how special it is for him to get the call this morning and to jump into a Ferrari on such a race track.
“So I hope we can score good points tomorrow so that he keeps those memories in his mind forever.”
