GB3 race winner Ollie Bearman claimed seventh place at the end of a stunning F1 debut for Ferrari, after a superb drive at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Thrown in at the deep end on Friday, after Carlos Sainz Jr was diagnosed with appendicitis, Bearman went straight into FP3 and then qualifying, where he placed his car 11th on the grid and less than half a tenth away from advancing to the final Q3 element.
A strong start to the race saw him hold 11th early on, but after a brief safety car period, he pulled off two outstanding overtaking moves at turn one to move up the order to ninth, which became seventh when Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton pitted late on.
The pair were unable to catch the Ferrari despite their softer and newer rubber, as the 18-year-old claimed a stunning seventh place a couple of seconds clear. In doing so, he was also awarded the Driver of the Day honour, ending his debut in superb style.
With George Russell six seconds up the road, and Norris a couple behind, the result ensured that GB3 graduates finished sixth, seventh and eighth in one of the toughest Grands Prix on the calendar.
On Thursday, Bearman had qualified on pole position in Formula 2, but was called up into the Ferrari seat less than 24 hours later on Friday afternoon after Sainz was hospitalised.
Having not driven the 2024 car, and missing Thursday’s two one-hour practice sessions, he was immediately inside the top-10 in third practice, and soared through into the second phase of qualifying a few hours later, only missing out on participating in the top-10 shootout by 0.036 seconds, and just over half a second away from his qualifying-master teammate Charles Leclerc.
Speaking to Sky F1 after the race, Bearman said: "I'm a little tired, you can probably see that I don't look my best, but it was a fantastic race. Pushing all the way, I was shocked how fast we were pushing, quicker every lap, that was incredible. Especially at the end when I had the two guys on softs bearing down on me, I couldn't relax, and I was always looking in my mirrors, pushing flat out. But it was a really exciting and fun race.
"The [end of race] countdown seemed like it was going slower than normal, but I think we managed it really well. They weren't really catching behind and I felt like I had a bit in hand in case I needed it, and a bit of engine mode as well. I think I did my fastest lap on the last one, I decided to push and see what I could do. It was really fun and I had good confidence building through the race, especially coming towards the end of the hard stint when I knew what the car was doing underneath me, and I could really push."