Oliver Bearman admitted that Formula 2 did not prepare him for the physical impact of driving a Formula 1 car. The Briton recalled the difficulties he faced in his unexpected debut for Ferrari at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP.
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Called up at the last minute to replace Carlos Sainz, who had to undergo appendicitis surgery, Bearman surprised by finishing the race in seventh place. Despite the impressive result, the driver revealed that he suffered a lot physically right in the first kilometers with the Ferrari car.
“On my first lap in TL3, I was already about 12 seconds faster than the pole I did in F2 the day before,” Bearman said in a video released by Formula 1 alongside his Haas teammate, Esteban Ocon. “On my first stint, my neck was already done. So I wasn’t very excited for the race. And it hurt.”
Ocon agreed with the difficulty and stated that nothing prepares a driver for the effort required by an F1 car. Bearman emphasized the physical difference between the categories. “In F2, for me, it was physically easy. The neck wasn’t even a factor. Then I did an F1 race and my neck turned everything. It was an absurd leap. But it was a fun day, a fun night,” he said.
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Besides becoming the youngest driver in history to compete for Ferrari in Formula 1, Bearman almost reached Q3 right in his debut. The Briton was only 0.036 seconds away from a spot among the top ten and, in the race, managed to hold off names like Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in the final laps.
The driver also highlighted the special moment shared with his father in the Ferrari garage. “I couldn’t get stressed. I was just trying to survive with my neck. For him, sharing that with me was very special,” he added. After the remarkable debut, Bearman secured a full-time seat at Haas for the 2025 season.
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