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Meet Ferraris' New 18 Yr Old Wonderkid-Youngest British Driver in F1 History
Meet Ferraris' New 18 Year Old Wonderkid: As He Prepares to Become Youngest British Driver in F1 History
How Oliver Bearman dropped out of his £17K-a-year school to pursue his Grand Prix dream, & move to Italy...
MailOnline 9 MAR 2024
The teenager needed to convince his mother Terri, right, to drop out of his private school
Oliver Bearman's father, David Bearman
Bearman started in motor sport at the age of eight
Lewis Hamilton also broke onto the F1 scene as a talented youngster
Bearman dropped out of King Edward VI Grammar School
Oliver Bearman had to convince his mum to let him leave his grammar school to pursue his F1 dream... the teenager was just one when Lewis Hamilton made his bow but is already adjusting to life in the fast lane
Essex teenager Oliver Bearman will make history at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when he becomes the youngest British driver in Formula One.
The 18-year-old took part in qualifying on Friday as a replacement for Carlos Sainz, with the Spaniard suffering with appendicitis.
Bearman breaks Lando Norris' record as Britain's youngest F1 competitor, with the McLaren driver having been 19 years, four months and four days old when he debuted in 2019.
He also becomes the 12th Briton to drive for Ferrari, pipping seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to driver's seat ahead of his arrival next season.
Ferrari's reserve driver, who turns 19 in May, will step up from Formula Two for the race weekend in Saudi Arabia - but has already made his impact in Jeddah and has a growing online profile, reportedly dating TikTok star Estelle Oglivy, who has 72,000 followers.
Bearman, driving for Prema, topped the F2 qualifying times at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Thursday but has been withdrawn from their sprint and feature races to make his F1 bow.
It marks a remarkable elevation for Bearman, who will join legends Hamilton and Fernando Alonso on the track this weekend.
He was just 18 months old when Lewis Hamilton made his Formula One debut and was not even born when Alonso, 42, won his first title.
Bearman has shown his exceptional talent from a young age after finishing in the top five in the British Karting GP in 2013, a year after taking up motor racing as an eight-year-old.
He went on to win the Kartmasters British Grand Prix and become the British vice-champion in the cadet class, before moving from cadet to junior level in 2018.
His transition from karts to cars came just four years ago when he competed in the German and Italian F4 championships. Bearman became the first driver to win the title in both championships in 2021, winning 17 races in total.
Bearman's success led to him joining the Ferrari Driver Academy at the end of 2021.
His move to the academy required Bearman to make the bold decision to quit King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford.
On the track, Bearman has continued to make progress with Prema on the F2 circuit, winning four races last year.
He will now be the latest driver to graduate from Prema to feature in F1, after Charles Leclerc, Mick Schumacher and Oscar Piastri.
His progression was further highlighted when he drove in practice at the Mexican Grand Prix five months ago.
Bearman, who was born only three months before Fernando Alonso won his first title in 2005, finished ahead of the double world champion.
The 18-year-old described the achievement as an 'added bonus' after taking part for the American team Haas.
He finished 15th in first practice, just 1.6 seconds behind Red Bull's unstoppable missile Max Verstappen and three-tenths short of Nico Hulkenberg, a veteran of 200 starts — in the other Haas.
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