Max Verstappen hailed the “incredible” Ferrari stand-in Ollie Bearman after the British teenager qualified 11th for his shock Formula One debut in Saudi Arabia.
Bearman, 18 years, 10 months and one day when the lights go out for Saturday’s 50-lap race in Jeddah, was thrown into the deep end following a dramatic late call-up for Carlos Sainz, who was hospitalised with appendicitis.
But the Essex teenager – with just one hour of practice under his belt, and having never driven an F1 machine at night – came within 0.036 seconds of toppling Lewis Hamilton and progressing to the final phase of qualifying.
Verstappen put Red Bull’s continued off-track woes to one side by taking pole position, with Charles Leclerc second, three tenths back, and Sergio Perez third. Hamilton qualified eighth.
But Bearman, who will become the second youngest driver to start an F1 race, stole the show. And Verstappen, 17 when he made his debut nine years ago, led the tributes.
“What Ollie has done has been very, very impressive,” said Verstappen.
“I watched his first few laps in practice, because that is where you can judge if someone is comfortable in the car, and by lap two or three I thought ‘that is a strong start’, and to be 11th, and only six tenths off pole at the time, is more than you could have asked for. He he has done an incredible job.”
Probably to Christian Horner’s relief, all eyes were off Red Bull and on Ferrari as Bearman followed in the footsteps of Britain’s first F1 champion Mike Hawthorn and John Surtees – the only man to win a world title on two and four wheels – when he rolled out of the Italian team’s garage.
He will be the 12th British driver to race for Ferrari – and the first Englishman since Nigel Mansell in 1990.
Bearman was just 18 months old when Hamilton made his debut in 2007, and he was not even born when Fernando Alonso entered his first F1 race.
But in Jeddah on Friday, Bearman took to the same track as the men who share nine world championships between them. And, remarkably, he came within a hair’s breadth of beating Hamilton.
Forced to abort his first run in Q2, Bearman returned to the fastest street circuit on the calendar and hauled his Ferrari into 11th. He needed to be 10th to make it into Q3.
With the clock ticking down, Bearman geared up for his final run, and rode his Ferrari on rails in a valiant attempt to force his way through. His father David, the millionaire founder and chief executive of an insurance company, was living every minute of his son’s adventure at the back of the Ferrari garage.
Hamilton, failing to improve, afforded Bearman a chance to beat him, only to come up agonisingly short. Berman finished less than six tenths behind Leclerc in the other scarlet machine.
“That was a messy session,” said a critical Bearman over the radio. “Sorry about that.”
But when he faced the media, his smile lit up the night sky.
“I didn’t have time to get nervous or to overthink it,” he said. “I was focused on what to do and didn’t have time to think about the gravity of the situation and that was probably a good thing.
“On Monday, I will feel it and I will be quite proud. I am sure when I step back, I will pinch myself.
“My phone is going crazy but I will have a look at it tonight.”
Following four victories in his rookie Formula Two season – the feeder series to F1 – Bearman was thrust into the spotlight in Mexico City last October, eclipsing Lando Norris as the sport’s youngest Briton to take part in a practice session, when he drove for Haas.
He was handed a second practice run-out in Abu Dhabi a month later. On Saturday, he will surpass Norris – who was 19 years, four months and four days when he made his debut in Australia in 2019 – as the youngest British driver to start a Grand Prix.
“The stars have aligned,” added Bearman. “It has been such a quick progression in my career.
“Three years ago I was still in Formula Four and I only did my first F1 test in October so it has been a really quick progression and to make my F1 debut in red is special. Hopefully it is a sign of things to come.
“There is a lot of analysis to go through tonight – things like starts and pit-stop procedures that I have not had time to work on – so it will be a busy evening but hopefully I will get eight hours of sleep in.”
Horner backs Verstappen in 'pantomime' spat with Russell
Red Bull chief Christian Horner backed Max Verstappen's denial of George Russell's allegations against the four-time world champion before the Qatar Grand Prix last week.
Russell escalated his war of words with Verstappen on Thursday ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, calling the Dutchman a "bully" following a stewards meeting.
Verstappen claimed that Russell's conduct during a stewards' hearing in Qatar, which saw the Dutchman given a grid penalty, made him "lose all respect" for the Mercedes driver.
The British driver also accused the four-time world champion of threatening to put him “on your f*****g head in the wall”, a claim Verstappen told Dutch media was not true.
Verstappen stood by his stance that he found Russell’s attempts to get him a penalty in Qatar unacceptable, and Horner gave his view on the situation on Friday.
"Max does nothing but tell the truth, so I believe 100 per cent what he said to be accurate," Horner said. "Of course, there were other people in those steward rooms as well.
"They also came back and reported that they were quite surprised at the approach that was taken (by Russell)."
"The thing with Max… He tells you straight, tells you as it is. He never lies, always tells you the truth."
"A lot's been made of it. It's pantomime season," Horner added.
"We are getting ready for Christmas, so there's maybe an element of end of term blues there, but I don't think it will have any effect on the grand prix itself."
The Red Bull boss also responded to Toto Wolff, after he slammed Horner's leadership, with the Austrian calling him a "yapping little terrier".
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Horner was presented with an opportunity to bite back at those remarks.
"I'm not going to rise to the bait of that. Everybody manages their teams in different ways. We've won 122 races, 14 world championships - I think we're doing alright," he said.
"To be called a terrier, is that such a bad thing? They are not afraid of having a go at the bigger dogs. I would rather be a terrier than a wolf."
Ferrari's title hopes take a hit as Leclerc handed grid penalty
Charles Leclerc has been hit with a 10-place grid penalty for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, dealing a significant blow to Ferrari's title hopes.
Ferrari are 21 points behind McLaren in the Constructors' Championship ahead of the final race of the 2024 Formula One season.
With 44 points on offer, the Italian team realistically required high finishes from both Leclerc and his team-mate Carlos Sainz, who will be racing for Ferrari for the final time ahead of Lewis Hamilton's arrival next year.
Ferrari have had to fit a new battery pack to Leclerc's car, meaning they have gone above their permitted allowance for the campaign.
Leclerc had to wait for almost 30 minutes in the pits during Friday's first practice session, as his team dealt with the battery issue. He eventually went out to drive alongside his brother, Arthur.
It means Leclerc, who is just eight points behind second-place Lando Norris in the driver standings, must serve up a brilliant qualifying session on Saturday if he is to give himself, and his team, a firm chance of success in Sunday's race.
Norris' team McLaren are in pole position to take their first Constructors' title since 1998.
Mercedes boss Wolff slams Horner amid Verstappen-Russell row
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff hit out at Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner amid the ongoing row between four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen and George Russell.
The tension between the pair, which began during qualifying at last weekend's Qatar Grand Prix, escalated quickly after both drivers made further comments ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Reacting to the Dutch driver's comments that he had "lost all respect" for Russell for his role in demoting him from pole position, the Mercedes driver said Verstappen had threatened to crash into him on purpose.
And Mercedes boss Wolff also weighed in on the situation by criticising Horner, who called Russell "hysterical" in Qatar, for falling short of his role.
"I think as a team principal, it's important to be a sparring partner for your drivers, and that means explaining that things can be more nuanced," Wolff said.
"Statements that are absolutistic, thinking that everything is 100% right or 100% wrong, is just something you need to explain. Things are more nuanced, depending on your perception and your perspective.
"You need to allow for something to be 51-49, you need to allow it to be 70-30 - so there is always another side.
"Maybe, when you look at it that way, and you explain it to your drivers and your team, you come to the conclusion that there is truth on both sides. If you don't do that, you're falling short of your role."
Verstappen had qualified fastest in Qatar, but was later demoted to a second-placed start after a rare grid penalty for driving unnecessarily slowly and impeding Russell in qualifying, after both drivers had a hearing with the stewards.
"Why does he feel entitled to comment about my driver?" Wolff added. "How does that come? That even thinking about it, I just had 90 seconds to think about it. Yapping little terrier. Always something to say.
"There is a thing between drivers, and this is George and Max, and I don't want to get involved in that. But if the other team principal calls George 'hysterical', this is where he crosses a line for me.
"His forte, for sure, is not intellectual psychoanalysis, but that's quite a word. How dare you comment on the state of mind of my driver?!"
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