Oliver Bearman described his last-minute debut at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP as a nerve-wracking experience. In a recent conversation with Tom Clarkson on the F1: Beyond the Grid podcast, he revealed that, rather than calming his nerves, his manager made him feel even more anxious.
Bearman replaced Carlos Sainz that afternoon, who had to undergo appendicitis surgery ahead of the race in Jeddah. He knew there would be a lot of eyes on him, and the pressure was mounting.
“Just before getting into the car for the race, my manager, he didn’t tell me good luck,” said Bearman. “He didn’t say, you know, have fun. He was like, ‘These next two hours are the most important two hours of your life’ and I was like, thanks a lot.”
“I did not need you to tell me that, I knew that already. I knew it was a lot of pressure,” he added.
Instead of words of affirmation, Bearman received more warnings from one of his closest allies. In fact, his manager almost cost him the golden opportunity. How? Because “He did not top up his minutes” according to Bearman.
Bearman reveals his first interaction with Vasseur.
Bearman’s manager did not have time and could not take Fred Vasseur’s call. However, Bearman did and he instantly spoke to the Ferrari boss. It was an obvious call given news of Sainz’s surgery. So the Frenchman told the then 18-year-old instantly that he’d be racing for Ferrari that weekend. The news still surprised the British driver and made him extremely nervous.
Vasseur could instantly gauge the nervousness in the youngster’s voice. So as any good boss would do, he tried to calm him down before they met face to face. Bearman revealed, “He was like, Oli, calm down, it’s going to be okay.”
In the haste, the 2025 Haas man even confessed he’d be at the track in 10 minutes even though his hotel was 30 minutes away.
