Oliver Bearman says it was “really fulfilling” to have Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso praise him after his Formula 1 debut.
The 18-year-old Briton finished seventh at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after replacing Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Bearman told BBC Sport: “It was a proud day for me. For them to say these kind words was really nice – especially the older guys like Fernando and Lewis.
“I grew up watching them. To share the track with them was an honour.”
Seven-time world champion Hamilton called Bearman “a really bright future star”, two-time champion Alonso said he drove “fantastically well” and three-time champion Max Verstappen, who won in Jeddah, said he did “an incredible job”.
Bearman, who is a member of the Ferrari driver academy, was needed last-minute after Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis and needed surgery.
Bearman qualified on pole for the Formula 2 race and found out he would be driving only two hours before the final practice session. He qualified 11th and went on to score six points on his debut.
A perfectionist, he said not making it into the top 10 shootout in qualifying after a “scrappy” session was “a big regret”, and described becoming stuck behind Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas for six laps early in the race as “bad decision or bad execution” and “a bit longer than necessary to overtake the guys ahead”.
He said his remark after the race that Hamilton had had to help him from his car because her was so exhausted was a “joking comment”. The race, he said, “wasn’t that tough” physically. But he admitted it had been “difficult”.
Bearman said: “When I was driving I didn’t really feel too tired, but it’s when the adrenaline wears off after the flag and especially when you get out of the car and there is no more fresh air coming to you – that’s when I felt the heat and I needed to get my helmet off quite quickly to cool me down.”
‘You’re pretty much getting thrown around’
Jeddah is renowned as one of the toughest tracks physically for drivers because of its high-speed nature, the walls lining the track and the heat in Saudi Arabia.
“Especially for me who wasn’t used to it, it’s the G-force you pull, especially in sector one in Jeddah,” said Bearman.
“You go from 3G in one direction straight to the other one and then the other one again. Plus the longitudinal forces in braking – it’s like five times your bodyweight.
“So you’re pretty much getting thrown around in there and of course you need to stabilise your body with your core and neck to make sure your vision is correct because you need to be centimetres away from the wall to maximise the lap time.
“So all of that coupled with thick layers of fireproofs to keep you safe – it boils up. It gets really hot in there. You have an engine behind you; a lot of electronics boxes.
“That’s actually one thing that surprised me in F1, how hot the cockpit is compared to F2 and F3 – because of the complexity of the systems and the packaging is very tight – so there’s no rest out there.”
Bearman will travel to Australia this weekend in preparation for the next race on 22-24 March, where F2 again accompanies F1. It has not yet been confirmed whether Sainz will be fit to return at Ferrari, although that is the plan.
Bearman, who is from Essex and started racing karts when he was eight, joined Ferrari not long after he had turned 16 and moved to Italy to begin his racing education with them.
“I was pretty young,” he said. “It was tough at first, like moving to university a couple of years early, and home wasn’t as close as your average university student, so it was difficult.
“I did miss my family a lot and I tried to come back home as often as possible on the weekends to spend time with them.
“The thing is there is a lot of us the same age here in the academy, which meant on the weekdays we would always go out for dinner and have fun.
“But now I have kind of changed my roles I am very busy on the simulator. I have a bit more freedom now I have my driving licence, so I don’t mind staying here a bit more often.
“I see my parents at the race weekend and sometimes I come home, but much less often than in the beginning.”
Many observers, including his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, have said it is only a matter of time before Bearman is in F1. But Bearman himself said his aim for the time being is to maximise his second season in F2.
He points out that after a difficult first race of the season in Bahrain for his Prema team, then missing Saudi Arabia to race in F1, he is “currently last” in a championship he started as one of the favourites.
“The thing is you are only as good as your last race,” Bearman said. “So in a week’s time or two weeks’ time, all this will be forgotten and I will be judged on my previous F2 race. That is my main focus.
“I want to do as good as I can in F2 championship and see where we are at the end of that.”
But he must feel that a full-time F1 seat is tangible after his performance in Jeddah?
“I do hope so,” he said. “In the end, it all depends on my performance, so I have nail down race by race and do as well as I can and hopefully that will be enough.”