Oliver Bearman’s dad looked almost sickened as he watched him race in his first Formula One qualifying stint with Ferrari.

A video showed David Bearman looking visibly moved and breathing heavily as he watched on in the Ferrari garage.

His son, 18, stepped in for his Ferrari debut at the Saudi Arabian GP weekend in place of Carlos Sainz, who has appendicitis. 

He was almost immediately put under investigation for failing to follow the race director’s notes after potentially driving too slowly, but was cleared.

Speaking after the race, Bearman’s dad told Sky Sports: ‘I’m extremely proud. He did well and an awesome job.’

Oliver Bearman’s dad, David looked anxious as he watched his son race in qualifying for Ferrari

 Bearman, 18, is making his Formula One debut this weekend for the Scuderia in Saudi Arabia

The teenager has been called up to replace the ill Carlos Sainz for the Grand Prix in Jeddah

Bearman is reportedly dating Estelle Oglivy, who has 72,000 followers on TikTok

Asked whether he was living every moment following the pre-race footage, he added: ‘Maybe a little bit too much. It was a bit stressful. Just enjoy tomorrow, no expectations.’ 

Bearman qualified in 11th place for Saturday’s race after finishing 0.036 seconds slower than Lewis Hamilton in the second qualifying session.  

The Essex teenager breaks Lando Norris’ record as Britain’s youngest F1 competitor, with the McLaren driver having been 19 years, four months and four days old when he debuted in 2019.

He also becomes the 12th Briton to drive for Ferrari, pipping seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to driver’s seat ahead of his arrival next season.

Ferrari’s reserve driver, who turns 19 in May, is stepping up from Formula Two for the race weekend in Saudi Arabia – but has already made his impact in Jeddah and has a growing online profile, reportedly dating TikTok star Estelle Oglivy, who has 72,000 followers.

Bearman, driving for Prema, topped the F2 qualifying times at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Thursday but has been withdrawn from their sprint and feature races to make his F1 bow.

It marks a remarkable elevation for Bearman, who will join legends Hamilton and Fernando Alonso on the track this weekend.

He was just 18 months old when Lewis Hamilton made his Formula One debut and was not even born when Alonso, 42, won his first title.

Bearman has shown his exceptional talent from a young age after finishing in the top five in the British Karting GP in 2013, a year after taking up motor racing as an eight-year-old.

He went on to win the Kartmasters British Grand Prix and become the British vice-champion in the cadet class, before moving from cadet to junior level in 2018.

Oliver Bearman’s father, David Bearman prior to qualifying ahead of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix

Ogilvy often shares her outfits on TikTok and has built up thousands of followers

Bearman started in motor sport at the age of eight and enjoyed success on the karting circuit

The teenager needed to convince his mother Terri, right, to drop out of his private school

His transition from karts to cars came just four years ago when he competed in the German and Italian F4 championships. Bearman became the first driver to win the title in both championships in 2021, winning 17 races in total.

Bearman’s success led to him joining the Ferrari Driver Academy at the end of 2021.

His move to the academy required Bearman to make the bold decision to quit King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford.

The young driver admitted to Mail Sport last year that his ‘pro-education’ mum Terri needed convincing to allow him to leave the grammar school, his family and two dogs behind.

Bearman eventually earned his mother’s approval join the academy in Modena, located 12 miles north of Ferrari’s Maranello factory in northern Italy. He has since developed an Italian twang.

‘Maybe I got a bit lucky not to get the Essex accent,’ he told Mail Sport last year. ‘A lot of people have told me my accent has changed, even if I don’t notice it. 

‘I spend a lot of time with Italians, and communicating with people whose first language is not English isn’t easy, so I have changed my word order and ended up with this everywhere accent.

‘When I moved to Modena it happened pretty quickly. It was like going to university two years early, but I have loved every moment so far. My mum was very pro-school and very pro-education, but we managed to convince her in the end.

Bearman dropped out of King Edward VI Grammar School to move to Modena

Bearman won Italian and German F4 championships ahead of joining Ferrari’s driver academy

His team-mates at Prema Racing have teased Bearman in recent TikToks referencing his girlfriend

‘I miss my family and my dogs. I have an English bull terrier and a Boston terrier and they are very cute. That is the negative side. But the food in Italy is a big chunk above the English stuff, and the weather is better, too.’ 

Bearman is reportedly in a relationship with Estelle Ogilvy, who goes by the name Silly Lettuce on TikTok, where she shares her fashion inspiration and various outfits of the day. 

The couple are believed to be keen to keep their relationship under wraps having shared a photo together on social media this week, before swiftly deleting the snap.

His team-mates at Prema Racing, however, have teased Bearman in recent TikTok videos referencing his girlfriend.

On the track, Bearman has continued to make progress with Prema on the F2 circuit, winning four races last year.

He will now be the latest driver to graduate from Prema to feature in F1, after Charles Leclerc, Mick Schumacher and Oscar Piastri. 

His progression was further highlighted when he drove in practice at the Mexican Grand Prix five months ago.

Bearman, who was born only three months before Fernando Alonso won his first title in 2005, finished ahead of the double world champion.

The teenager won two races on the F2 circuit last year competing for Prema Racing

Bearman drove in practice at the Mexican Grand Prix and was quicker than Fernando Alonso

Bearman was pictured having a seat fitting on Friday ahead of his appearance in qualifying

The 18-year-old will become just the 12th British driver to represent Ferrari in Formula One

The 18-year-old described the achievement as an ‘added bonus’ after taking part for the American team Haas.

He finished 15th in first practice, just 1.6 seconds behind Red Bull’s unstoppable missile Max Verstappen and three-tenths short of Nico Hulkenberg, a veteran of 200 starts — in the other Haas.

Bearman, was only 18 months old when Lewis Hamilton made his F1 debut, aged 22, and admitted he was shocked to share the track with the legendary driver.

‘When I heard Hamilton was coming up behind me on a push lap I was like, “Wow, I will get out of the way”,’ Bearman said. However, it was Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, who was his boyhood hero.

Bearman has his own official YouTube channel which features two series called The Bear Necessities, the first following his debut Formula 2 season – including work-out footage

The second series of The Bear Necessities promises a ‘much more personal side’ to him – including showing off his record collection

The videos also show Bearman put through his paces in the kitchen, taught to cook tortellini

The films from Modena show tackling other challenges while speaking impressive Italian

‘I heard Jenson was praising me on Sky, and that was amazing for me,’ he added. ‘I don’t know why, but he was always the guy I loved and really looked up to. It is cool he recognised my performance in practice, and I will try to speak to him here — that is my goal.’

Bearman had been expected to enjoy further F1 practice sessions this year for the Ferrari-powered Haas, but will instead take to the grid for the whole race weekend in Saudi Arabia.