It’s not often that a rookie impresses on a chance F1 debut, let alone land a permanent seat on the back of it. That is Oliver Bearman’s story. The Ferrari reserve driver replaced Carlos Sainz, who was to undergo an appendectomy during the Saudi Arabian GP weekend, only to earn a P7 finish, leaving the likes of 7-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the dust. But it wasn’t a solo effort that has now landed him a 2025 Haas seat. Charles Leclerc had a “priceless” role to play in it.

Usually in F1, a driver’s main goal is to beat their teammate because they race in the same machinery. But Leclerc naturally couldn’t sustain that agenda in Jeddah this year. F2 driver Bearman, who only had 2 practice sessions worth of F1 experience before Jeddah, was relying on his then-125-race-old teammate for any assistance possible. And Leclerc delivered.

“Before the race, we sat down with him (Leclerc) and Fred (Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur),” Bearman said on the High Performance podcast. “He was helping me a little bit because I hadn’t done any long runs. So, I hadn’t done like two pushes in a row before doing the race. It’s a different scenario driving in the race versus the qualifying,” he explained.

To get the teenage sensation up to speed, here’s what Leclerc did. “He gave me a bit of insight about tire behavior and stuff that I hadn’t experienced yet. It’s a little detail, but it’s super helpful,” Bearman emphasized, adding, “It’s something that I didn’t get to experience in my practice session. These small little tips and insights were priceless for me.”

On that day in Jeddah, Bearman became the 68th F1 driver, out of 776 in total to have raced in the sport, to score points on debut. Surprisingly, Charles Leclerc and Frederic Vasseur weren’t his entire support system. The 26-year-old Monegasque’s driving coach chimed into the pre-race mentoring too.

Oliver Bearman credits Charles Leclerc’s driving coach & Ferrari’s ambassador for crucial assistance

Ollie’s F1 debut didn’t come as expected, and neither was it on a conventional circuit. Getting sidelined because of appendicitis was the last thing on Carlos Sainz’s radar, and the Jeddah circuit is known to be treacherous with some blind turns. Nonetheless, like Oscar Piastri, Bearman held his nerve for a P7 finish. His skilled performance impressed Hamilton and Leclerc, who endorsed him for a seat next year. But the behind-the-scenes grind is where the journey started.

“I spoke briefly with Jock Clear, who is leading the FDA, and he’s actually Charles’ driver coach,” the Briton said. “He offered me quite a decent amount of insight. Even Marc Gene (Ferrari ambassador and test driver), who works for Ferrari, he was in a similar situation to me last year, that he got called up last minute and he knows what it’s like. He offered me some help too.”

Oliver Bearman will race alongside Esteban Ocon at Haas next year. Apart from his Ferrari heroics, Haas owner, Gene Haas, also contributed to his journey. They had a long conversation during the Austrian GP weekend, connecting about the technical side of F1, which Bearman found amazing. They also found themselves on the same wavelength over their F1 ambitions, which we’ll see bear fruit next year. The journey has only begun for the 19-year-old with a promising career ahead of him. Onwards and upwards, Ollie!