Why the youngest British F1 debutant ever faces a 'nerve-wracking' test

Oliver Bearman is set to make his Formula 1 debut during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix by replacing Carlos Sainz. He will become the youngest British F1 debutant in Formula 1 history, taking the record from Lando Norris. The late announcement means he has just 60 minutes to prepare for qualifying, but the driving isn't the biggest worry according to Karun Chandhok.

Bearman was due to start the F2 feature race from pole position, but has had to turn that down. Chandhok doesn't believe the driving part is the biggest adjustment required. Chandhok himself left the (then known as) GP2 Series in 2009 and made his F1 debut in 2010 for HRT.

Why Bearman's task is nerve-wracking

"He'd be feeling nervous more than anything else. The fact that he's coming into FP3 with just an hour before qualifying is nerve-wracking for him. The fact that he's driven the track here is a positive. But to be honest, the jump from F2 to F1, from personal experience, I found, is not so much about driving the car. It's not about the speed of the car. It's not about those bits. He'll be up to speed. He's driven F1 cars before. He's done FP1. He's driven older Ferraris and Tests. That's not the issue," Chandhok said on Sky Sports.

"It's everything else. It's the procedures. It's getting all the recovery systems right. It's getting those switches on the steering wheel right. It's the communications with the pit wall. It's all of those things, the processes, the procedures that you go through in F1. Formula 2 teams are restricted to 12 people. He's got to deal with 60 people. He gets to a debrief and an army of engineers here and in Maranello. It's that side of it that's much more overwhelming for a driver coming."

Bearman will get 60 minutes of practice. In 2022, Nyck de Vries found himself in a similar position when Alex Albon required the same surgey as Sainz. The Jeddah circuit is one of the most challenging tracks on the F1 calendar.