Bearman steals the show as son makes impressive Formula 1 debut with Ferrari

’I’m extremely proud, he did well and an awesome job.”

Those were the words of Aventum Group chief executive David Bearman to Sky Sports F1 after watching his son Oliver compete in Formula 1 for the first time over the weekend.

Bearman’s teenage son is a reserve driver for Ferrari and was set to compete in the Formula 2 races in Saudi Arabia on Friday and Saturday.

But Ferrari F1 driver Carlos Sainz was forced to step back from his driving duties over the weekend due to appendicitis – meaning the Scuderia decided to call on its reserve to fill his place.

Due to Sainz pulling out of the event at the last minute, Oliver had one practice session to prepare before being thrown into qualifying and the race around the Jeddah circuit.

Despite the lack of preparation, the 18-year-old qualified an impressive 11^th before stealing the limelight with an incredible seventh place in the race, beating the likes of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.

Unsurprisingly, Oliver secured the sport’s Driver of the Day award and was seen after the race embracing his Father and giving him a kiss.

What. A. Debut!! 😦 P7 after one practice session and Driver of the Day!!#SaudiArabianGP#F1pic.twitter.com/kvv14Aq3Bz

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 9, 2024

The picture was then posted all over the Ferrari and F1 social channels.

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During the Grand Prix weekend, the cameras commonly cut to David, who spent his weekend in the Ferrari garage cheering on his son.

He looked extremely focused as he concentrated on how he was doing, although one moment saw him breathe a sigh of relief as Oliver just kept it out of the barriers after getting a snap of oversteer out of the final corner.

Ollie Bearman’s dad in the garage, almost as nervous as us 😅

pic.twitter.com/hWubuKNGMu

— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) March 8, 2024

David was also seen standing next to Ferrari chairman John Elkann during the race, who was seen smiling at Oliver’s performance and giving encouragement to David as he watched on nervously.

But he was elated after seeing his son finish seventh, with him giving high-five’s to anyone he could find after the race ended.

On the whole, it was a dream come true for the Bearmans over the weekend – and given his performance, it is very likely that we will see Oliver racing in F1 in the future.