Ollie Bearman has revealed the reality check he received when stepping into a Ferrari in 2024 for a shock debut at the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Bearman was just 18 when he received the call that he would be fulfilling his role as reserve driver for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, as Carlos Sainz recovered from Appendicitis.
The Briton had only one hour of practice time to get acquainted with the SF-24, a car that would go on to be a race winner and runner up in the Constructors’ title.
Scoring an impressive seventh in the race, it lay the foundations for his full-time seat at Haas in 2025, a seat which he has made his own.
But that whirlwind weekend was not without trials and tribulations, Bearman revealing a brutal reality of stepping up from Formula 2.
“My first lap in FP3, it was like 12 seconds faster than my pole lap I did in F2 the day before,” Bearman said in a video for F1.
“On my first run, my neck was gone already. So, I was not really looking forward to that race. And it hurt.”
Ollie Bearman reflects on “crazy step”
Teammate Ocon, joining Bearman, said nothing can prepare a driver for the stresses of F1, a sentiment Bearman shared, delivering a somewhat blunt verdict of F2.
“Exactly,” he said in reply to Ocon.
” Because F2, for me, was easy physically. The neck was not even a factor. Then I did an F1 race, and my neck was everything. It was a crazy step. But a fun day, fun night.”
Bearman revealed the presence of his father also made the weekend special.
“I couldn’t be stressed. I was trying to hold on with my neck. For him to share that experience with me, standing at the back of the garage, I think he was struggling with nerves, but it was very special to share that day with him.”
Bearman’s admission demonstrates the massive jump junior drivers take from F2 to F1, with almost nothing able to prepare them for the brutality of a modern F1 car.
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