For most young racing drivers, a call-up to Ferrari would feel like a dream. For Oliver Bearman, it quickly became something far more intense – a brutal awakening to the unforgiving world of Formula 1.
Bearman was only 18 years old when his life changed overnight ahead of the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. With Carlos Sainz sidelined through appendicitis, Ferrari turned to its teenage reserve driver and handed him one of the biggest opportunities imaginable: stepping into the scarlet SF-24 with virtually no preparation.
What followed was one of the standout surprise performances of the season.
Armed with just a single practice session to understand a car capable of winning races and challenging for the Constructors’ Championship, Bearman stunned the paddock by charging to seventh place under the lights in Jeddah – a drive that helped pave the road to his full-time seat with Haas F1 Team for 2025.
But behind the headlines and excitement, Bearman says the reality inside the cockpit hit him immediately.
A crazy step’ into Formula 1
Speaking in a video released by Formula 1, Bearman recalled the sheer physical shock of jumping from Formula 2 machinery into a modern Ferrari.
“My first lap in FP3, it was like 12 seconds faster than my pole lap I did in F2 the day before,” Bearman recalled, speaking to F1.
That staggering leap in performance came with an equally dramatic increase in physical punishment.
“On my first run, my neck was gone already. So, I was not really looking forward to that race. And it hurt.”
The comments paint a vivid picture of just how extreme today’s F1 cars have become. The speed, braking forces and cornering loads delivered a level of strain Bearman admits he had never remotely experienced in junior categories.
Bearman’s current Haas teammate, Esteban Ocon, echoed the sentiment, explaining that no amount of preparation can truly replicate the demands of Formula 1 competition. Bearman completely agreed.
“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.”
A special family moment amid the chaos
Despite the pain and pressure, Bearman also remembers the weekend for a much more personal reason – sharing it with his father during one of the most important moments of his career.
While the teenage Briton battled physical exhaustion around the fearsome Jeddah Corniche Circuit, his father watched nervously from the Ferrari garage as his son took on the world’s best drivers.
Oliver Bearman with his parents, David and Terri Bearman.
“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,” he explained.
That remarkable weekend now feels like a turning point in Bearman’s rapid rise through the sport. What began as an emergency substitution became proof that he belonged on Formula 1’s biggest stage.
Read also: Bearman aiming for Ferrari seat but admits ‘it’s a long journey’Yet Bearman’s reflections also serve as a reminder of the enormous gulf between Formula 2 and Formula 1 – a jump measured not only in lap time, but in physical brutality.
For one unforgettable night in Saudi Arabia, the teenager discovered both at once.
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