Oliver Bearman has revealed how Sir Lewis Hamilton had to pull him out of his car after he was âdestroyedâ following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen led a Red Bull 1-2 in Jeddah on Saturday to continue their perfect start to the 2024 Formula 1 season, despite their many difficulties off-track.
But much of the attention was on Bearman who was making his F1 debut as a late stand-in for Carlos Sainz after the Ferrari star underwent surgery on Friday for appendicitis.
Aged just 18, Bearman is the youngest British driver to race in the sport and the third youngest overall, behind only Verstappen and Lance Stroll.
After qualifying 11th, the teenager drove superbly on the notoriously difficult Jeddah street circuit to finish seventh â ahead of fellow Brits Lando Norris and Hamilton.
The physical rigours of driving an F1 car, especially in such tricky conditions, can leave in the most experienced drivers shattered and Bearman has revealed he needed a little help getting out of his Ferrari after the chequered flag.
â[Lewis] was basically pulling me out of the car because I was struggling. It was really physical,â the debutant said post-race.
âIn a race like this â one of the lowest-degradation tracks of the season and one of the highest lateral G [forces] â you are pretty much doing 50 qualifying laps.
â[I feel] destroyed. Physically it was a really difficult race!
âEspecially in the end, when I had the two guys on soft behind me, I had to basically push flat out and it was a mentally difficult race as expected, and physically I was struggling too, but great fun out there.â
Sainz is expected to be back behind the wheel for the next race in Australia in two weeksâ time, but Bearman has made a real statement of intent with the Formula 2 ace determined to be on the F1 grid next year.
While Ferrariâs line-up for 2025 is sorted through Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, the teen has been linked with a seat at Haas, whose drivers â Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg â are both out of contract.
And if his performance in Saudi wasnât enough, Bearman has earned the adulation of the grid, with Hamilton applauding his countryman as he drove past him on the cooldown lap, before the pair embraced in the paddock.
âTo be pulled out of your class and put straight into a Ferrari, and then to go straight into practice, he did such a phenomenal job and it has just showed he is a really bright future star,â the seven-time champion said of Bearman, whose 21 years his junior.
Hamimltonâs Mercedes teammate and fellow Brit George Russell added: âI fully expect to see him on the grid next year, or the one after.
âHe did an amazing job, coming in at a circuit like this which is extremely difficult. He exceeded everybodyâs expectations and he caught a lot of people by surprise. He clearly had confidence from the off to push the car to the limit.â
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