2024-03-11 07:46:39
Has Britain found its new motorsport star?
It might be too early to tell, but an 18-year-old has had the Formula 1 world talking (only) about him for a few days at least.
Bad luck for one and chance for another and that’s exactly what happened at the weekend of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Ferrari’s Spanish driver Carlos Sainz had to undergo appendicitis surgery and was replaced by Oliver Bearman. The Englishman is a competitor of “Prema” in Formula 2 and was supposed to start from the first position, but urgently sat behind the wheel of the second car of the Scuderia.
What’s more, on his debut the Ferrari academy driver finished 7th and scored his first points in the world championship. After the final, he was so tired that his famous compatriot Lewis Hamilton had to help him out of the car.
“Where was I when I was 18? In Formula 3? I wasn’t even close to Formula 1. But times change,” commented seven-time world champion Hamilton.
At 18 years and 306 days, Bearman became the youngest Ferrari driver ever to compete. His seventh place finish at the Jeddah street circuit is the second-best result for a debutant. Brazilian Felipe Nasser finished fifth with Sauber in the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.
“I think I did a good job. What else do I have to do to be accepted into Formula 1;” Bearman said. He also became part of history by being the first driver to compete with a world champion who won the title in the year of his birth. In this case, the champion is Fernando Alonso – the Spaniard won the championship for the second time in 2005.
Bearman from Essex and is now the youngest Briton to start in Formula 1. The previous record – 19 years, 4 months and 4 days – was held by Lando Norris, who is currently a McLaren driver.
Oliver started motorsports at the age of 8 and followed the tradition of his first races being in go-karts. Then he switched to cars and became the first to win the titles in the German and Italian Formula 4. From the end of 2021, he is in the Ferrari academy. To move to Modena, however, the Englishman had to leave his school in Chelmsford. His mother Terri disagrees with this, as she believes that her son should get a good education. However, after much persuasion, she gives her consent.
“I was lucky that in Italy I quickly forgot about my Essex accent. Many people have told me I have changed the way I speak, and I haven’t noticed. I spend a lot of time with Italians, and communicating with non-native English speakers is not easy. I had to adapt and now I speak like everyone else,” explains Bearman.
He admits that he misses his family, as well as the two dogs. But in Italy, both the food and the weather are better.
Oliver is in a relationship with Estelle Ogilvy, who is a TikTok star who shares her views on fashion with her 72,000 followers. In the social network, Estelle is known as Silly Lettuce. She and her boyfriend prefer to keep quiet about their relationship. Some time ago, they published a photo of themselves together, which they quickly deleted.
Max Verstappen’s victory in Saudi Arabia somehow eluded the young British driver. The three-time world champion again had no problems and achieved the 56th success of his career. The Dutchman also recorded his 100th podium.
Last week, the main figure in the Red Bull dramas was Dr. Helmut Marko. According to one of the rumors, the Austrian, who is an advisor to the team, should have been fired because he was suspected of being a source of inside information about the sex scandal with boss Christian Horner. However, Dr Marko is Verstappen’s personal mentor and the champion has said outright that he will step aside if the Austrian is suspended. Helmut had a long meeting with the CEO of “Red Bull” Oliver Mintzlaff, after which he himself announced that he was staying, but did not forget to thank Max for his loyalty.