Meet Oliver Bearman, the latest driver to join the Formula 1 grid
Formula 2 pole-sitter Oliver Bearman will make his F1 race debut this weekend in Saudi Arabia after replacing Ferrari's Carlos Sainz due to illness.
Oliver Bearman jumps in the Ferrari SF-24 for Free Practice 3 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Known as Ollie, the Brit made his Formula 1 debut last year, driving at a private test for Ferrari before impressing in two FP1 sessions with their customer Haas.
The American team have since signed him as a reserve driver with a program of six further FP1 sessions planned for 2024.
Bearman came up through karting but first emerged as an open-wheel star in his 2021 season, when he took both the German and Italian Formula 4 titles in double duties with Van Amersfoort Racing.
The two titles also won him the Henry Surtees Award for most outstanding performance by a BRDC rising star, and he graduated to FIA Formula 3 with PREMA Racing for 2022, finishing third after a race win and seven podiums, just seven points behind eventual champion Victor Martins.
He remained a contender through until the tightly contested season decider in Monza, with Martins and Bearman making contact on lap one of the sprint race before chaos erupted in the feature race.
Bearman was up to second after passing Martins, and challenging fellow title contender Zane Maloney for the lead when the race was red-flagged, with Martins earning enough points in fourth to take the championship and Zane Maloney moving to second in the standings with his race victory.
Ollie Bearman celebrates victory in Formula 2 at Baku. (Formula Motorsport Limited/Supplied)
Bearman then progressed to the FIA Formula 2 championship last year with PREMA Racing, taking four race wins in his rookie campaign.
The successful year included a sweep of the weekend in Baku after qualifying on pole position, just the ninth driver in Formula 2 and GP2 history to take both wins in the two-race format, and only the fourth as a rookie.
Despite his positive results, he only finished sixth in the championship, with an incident-filled weekend leading to two retirements in Jeddah, as well as retirements in Zandvoort and Yas Marina, all due to contact with other drivers, and a suspension issue taking him out of the sprint race in Monaco.
Bearman on track in Formula 2 at Baku. (Formula Motorsport Limited/Supplied)
Now firmly on the verge of Formula 1, the Ferrari junior driver made his debut in a private test with the Italian team in late last year before two free practice sessions with Haas and the young drivers' test with Ferrari in 2023.
This year, alongside his F2 campaign he shares the Ferrari reserve driver position with Antonio Giovinazzi and Robert Shwartzman, as well as sharing the Haas F1 reserve role with Pietro Fittipaldi.
He has revealed that he has already completed a F1 test this year with Ferrari, and is scheduled for FP1 runs for Haas in Imola, Barcelona, Silverstone, Hungary, Mexico City, and Yas Marina.
With Sainz out ill, Bearman now joins the F1 grid in Jeddah, the 776th driver to do so and the 97th in the history of Ferrari, racing under number 38 as the first British driver to race for the Italian team since Eddie Irvine in 1999.
Watch every session of the 2024 Formula One season live in 4K on Kayo Sports.
