Wonderkid Oliver comes 7th – and even beats Lewis
HE WAS was just three months old when Lewis Hamilton made his Formula One debut in 2007, but last night teenage driving sensation Oliver Bearman showed that Britain can boast a new motor racing superstar.
In a stunning debut for Ferrari, the Essex-born wonderkid finished the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in seventh position, two places ahead of Hamilton.
Afterwards, the seven-time world champion was the first to congratulate the beaming 18year-old, the youngest British driver to start an F1 race. Hamilton and fellow British Mercedes driver George Russell waited for Bearman to get out of his car and hugged him.
Asked how he was feeling after the race, in which he made up four positions from his start position, Bearman replied: ‘A little tired. As you can see, I don’t look my best. It was a fantastic race, pushing all the way.
‘I was shocked at how fast we were pushing, getting quicker every lap. That was incredible, especially at the end... I couldn’t relax. It was a really exciting and fun race.’
‘A star is born,’ said Damon Hill, the 1996 F1 world champion, after watching Bearman’s performance as a last-minute stand-in for the team’s regular driver, Carlos Sainz, who had surgery for appendicitis.
‘To jump in at such short notice, on a track as intimidating as Jeddah, in a Ferrari of all things, and hold up under immense pressure... Wow.’
Max Verstappen put aside the sexting scandal ripping through his Red Bull team to claim his second win in as many weeks.
But it was 6ft 3in Bearman – aged 18 years, 10 months and one day – who stole the show, and he was voted driver of the day by the sport’s fans.