Oliver Bearman’s ‘Smart’ Response to Esteban Ocon’s Extreme Racing Tactics Gets Appreciated by Ex-F1 Racer

Oliver Bearman‘s stellar debut has everyone in awe of the 18-year-old. The new record holder for being the youngest Ferrari driver got an opportunity behind the wheel because of Carlos Sainz Jr.’s medical emergency. After being diagnosed with appendicitis, Sainz was rushed to the hospital to get the surgery done. This led to Ferrari needing a driver, and Bearman got the seat.

What’s more impressive is that earlier that day, Oliver Bearman finished his F2 qualifiers, achieving the pole for his race the next day. Little did he know that his world was going to turn around as he got into the SF24. Before getting into the car, he was motivated by the words of his hero, Sebastian Vettel, and along with that compliments from the F1 world. Another figure that wished Bearman the best was former F1 driver, Johnny Herbert. The former F1 driver spoke to Racingnews365 and shared his thoughts on the young Briton’s driving.

The Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon Battle

In a discussion with Racingnews365, Johnny Herbert spoke about how Oliver Bearman was around the paddocks and stated, “He had a car that was capable of being on the podium, but what was lovely is that you saw him joking with his engineer and mechanics before the race. He was very relaxed, which is a very important part.”

Explaining the pressure of being a debut driver in F1 and that too for Ferrari, he added, “A lot of young drivers get very, very tense on their debut, but he had the ability to take all those expectations on his shoulders from himself, from within the team, his family, and with it being Ferrari, the most high-pressured seat in Formula 1 where expectations are always very high on the drivers, and almost brush them away.”

Changing focus on the driver’s father, condition during the race, Herbert said, “The most nervous person in the Bearman family was his dad. He looked really nervous, which you would expect.” But there was a battle that Bearman fought that caught the former F1 driver’s focus. “In the race, he was very good and very aware of not getting himself into trouble. At one stage he raced Esteban Ocon who, as we know is very tough and very good at getting his elbows out. He had a couple of opportunities and went for them, but realized when it was not going to work out, he backed out. He played the game very smartly,” he concluded.

This shows the tense situation that Oliver Bearman was put under on extremely short notice, and how he tackled it. Further in the interview, there were comparisons of the debuting driver to the defending world champion, Max Verstappen, who also has had a battle with Ocon in the past.

Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon feud

Back in 2018, during the Brazilian Grand Prix, Ocon, who is now infamous for his driving antics on the track, had a collision with Max Verstappen. The race leader Verstappen was about to lap Esteban Ocon but ran into the driver instead. This later on progressed into some off-the-track drama as Verstappen confronted Ocon for costing him the race. Leaving Lewis Hamilton to take the lead and win the race.

Unhappy about the situation, Verstappen took matters into his own hands and spoke to Ocon after the race. The talk included some pushing and tugging before they dispersed. This moment will be remembered in F1 as the one time that things got too heated during the defending champions’ early career. That being said, who do you think was wrong at the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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