Oliver Bearman reveals what his manager told him minutes before F1 debut with Ferrari

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With just an hour of track preparation, it does not get more pressurised than Oliver Bearman’s debut with Ferrari at this year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Having been named as Ferrari’s reserve driver for the 2024 season, Oliver Bearman probably did not expect just two races into his job that he would get the call-up to substitute one of the main drivers for a weekend.

That’s exactly what happened when Carlos Sainz fell ill on Friday, only to be told he had appendicitis and required surgery which would put him out for the rest of the weekend.

With just an hour of practice under his belt, Bearman went into qualifying and was just 0.046s off knocking seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton out of the top 10 shootout.

READ MORE: Who is 2025 Haas driver and Ferrari gem Oliver Bearman? Everything to know

The 18-year-old was the youngest British driver to start a race and the first driver from the UK to race for the famous team since Eddie Irvine in 1999.

Discussing his debut on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Bearman recalled what his manager told him just minutes before he started the race.

Oliver Bearman told Ferrari debut ‘most important two hours of your life’

From 11th on the grid, Bearman finished the race in seventh ahead of Lewis Hamilton and this year’s championship contender Lando Norris, making it one of the best performances by an F1 debutant since Felipe Nasr finished fifth at the 2015 Australian GP.

His father, David, nervously watched on from the Ferrari garage in what is one of the most physically difficult races on the calendar.

“I knew that it was going to be the most important weekend of my life. And actually, just before getting in the car for the race, my manager, he didn’t tell me good luck. He didn’t say have fun,” said Bearman.

“He just said ‘These next two hours are the most important two hours of your life’ And I was like, thanks a lot!”

Damon Hill ‘stunned’ by Oliver Bearman debut

Bearman’s solid debut with Ferrari arguably contributed to Haas’ decision to replace Kevin Magnussen with the Briton next year.

Former F1 driver and 1996 World Champion Damon Hill was impressed with how Bearman managed to hold on to seventh, ahead of seasoned veterans in Norris and Hamilton.

READ MORE: Oliver Bearman makes F1 history after scoring points for Haas during Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Hill said on social media: “A start is born now!” and praised Bearman for jumping into the car at short notice and delivering a result for Ferrari.

Bearman got a chance to race in his second F1 race in Azerbaijan after Magnussen was banned, where he finished in the points again for Haas. This was the first time in F1 that a driver has finished in the points on debut for two different teams in the same season.