FORMULA ONE’S newest sensation could be doing something very different if his parents had bought a new carpet instead of a go-kart.
The 18-year-old Oliver Bearman produced a brilliant performance to finish seventh in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last weekend.
Record-breaking Bearman’s moment in the spotlight came after he got the call to be a replacement for Carlos Sainz in Saudi as the star underwent surgery for appendicitis.
The Ferrari prodigy became the youngest Brit to ever race in F1 and is the third youngest driver ever.
Bearman managed to place in front of compatriots Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris as well as Nico Hulkenberg – who he was involved in an awkward moment with afterwards.
Bearman’s passion for motors came from his father, David, who had raced at club level and quickly became a “nerd” and able to identify every make and model of car on the road at a young age.
The boy racer’s dad told The Times: “I’d have been able to name every single car on the road.
“I was a bit of a nerd with that. At home, I had a bunch of model cars. A lot of kids have their thing, mine was model cars.
“I had a Bentley, a Ferrari, a jeep. I had my own little world there. Once I’d got my first kart, I just couldn’t wait to go racing.”
However, things could have turned out very differently had David and mum Terri opted for a new carpet instead of getting their lad a go-kart at Christmas in 2011.
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His father explained: “We had some old lino that I absolutely hated.
“We were either getting the carpet for Christmas or the go-kart.
“We scraped together the £1,500 for the go-kart and knew it was worth it the first time he jumped in; he just had a beaming smile all over his face.”
The long hours of travelling and racing at weekends for the Bearmans paid off when he joined Ferrari‘s driver academy at the age of 16 and quit school against his mother’s wishes and moved to Modena — close to Ferrari’s headquarters in northern Italy.
In 2023, he came sixth in the Formula Two championship.
Bearman has since been tipped as a future star after he was snapped up as part of Ferrari’s young driver scheme.
His road to the top began in 2021 as he won the F4 series in both Italy and Germany and then, after moving up to F3, the teen sensation finished in third and was promoted to F2 in 2023 with Prema Racing.
He featured in Mexico City and Abu Dhabi practice sessions with Haas during the 2023 season before his big moment last weekend.
Sainz is expected to return to his seat for the Australian Grand Prix later this month but Bearman remains on standby in case he is needed to fill in again.
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