How Oliver Bearman nearly 'MISSED' his F1 debut with Ferrari
F1 News
Oliver Bearman has recalled the dramatic moment when he almost missed his F1 debut due to a rather simple issue. The Brit has impressed in his two F1 showings so far, scoring points on both occasions for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Haas at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Before his first call-up, a minor hiccup nearly ruined his F1 opportunity with Ferrari. On the Beyond the Grid podcast, he reveals all.
The young British star will drive for Haas in 2025 after two impressive F1 showings this season. Bearman took Carlos Sainz's Ferrari seat for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as the Spaniard suffered from Appendicitis. After securing the pole for the F2 feature race, the Prema driver was contacted by Ferrari.
Bearman: 'My manager couldn't take the call!'
"My manager ran out of credit on his phone or something, so he couldn't take the call. I almost missed the race because my manager didn't top his minutes!" Bearman revealed. The Brit then took matters into his own hands and spoke to Ferrari's team principal, Fred Vasseur, briefly over the phone. "Then I called right back because I had enough data, thank god, and he (Vasseur) told me the news that I would be racing for Ferrari this weekend."
Fred Vasseur 'knew' Bearman was nervous:
Rationally, the rookie was nervous at the time. He was just about to jump into FErrari's SF-24 for his first Grand Prix on a few hours' notice. "I think he understood pretty quickly that I was getting really nervous from the way I was speaking to him. He was like, Ollie, calm down, it's gonna be okay. I remember telling him that I'll be at the track in 10 minutes, and my hotel was like half an hour away from the track, but I didn't want to miss it," the talented youngster reveals.
"I wanted to get there and make sure I could do it, so yeah, those like three hours prior to between getting the cool and jumping in the car for FP3 went by so quickly." Concluded Bearman. Of course, his efforts paid off, as he's been rewarded with a full-time Formula 1 seat at Haas for 2025. Bearman will be alongside Frenchman Esteban Ocon next season in an all-new driver lineup at the American team.
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