Ollie Bearman called his surprise 2024 Ferrari debut in Saudi Arabia a brutal reality check, saying the jump from Formula 2 to Formula 1 “hurt” and left his neck “gone.” The 18-year-old reserve was pressed into action after Carlos Sainz was ruled out with appendicitis and had roughly one hour of practice in the SF-24 before his first FP3 run, which he said felt about 12 seconds faster than his F2 pole lap. Teammate Esteban Ocon echoed that no amount of preparation can fully replicate F1’s demands.

Bearman qualified 11th at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, missing Q3 by 0.036 seconds, then finished seventh in the race after holding off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. The outing made him the youngest driver to race for Ferrari and was made special for him by his father watching from the back of the garage. The SF-24, a race-winning, title-challenging car during 2024, provided a competitive platform for the high-pressure debut.

The performance in Jeddah helped raise Bearman’s profile and helped pave the way to a confirmed full-time seat with Haas for 2025. His showing in that night race was credited with increasing his stock and he later made a strong impression in his 2025 rookie season.