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F1 fans reacted to Ferrari junior driver Oliver Bearman, revealing how he received a message from former F1 driver Sebastian Vettel before the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
After the first day of practice at Jeddah, Ferrari officially announced that Carlos Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis and wouldn't be able to participate in the rest of the Grand Prix. This gave their reserve driver, Oliver Bearman, a golden opportunity to debut in F1. He impressed the entire F1 paddock by qualifying P11 and finishing the race in P7.
Bearman talked about receiving several messages congratulating him and wishing him the best for the race. However, he picked Sebastian Vettel's message as his favorite. He said he was a massive fan of the German driver and felt special after receiving a message from him.
"I did get a lot of congratulations and also good luck messages before the race. My favorite one [message before the race] was from Sebastian Vettel. I am a huge fan of his since the early days. Up until he retired I was always rooting for Seb. To get a message from him was really special. To know that he was watching me was... put a bit of pressure, but it was a nice pressure."
Many fans were delighted to see Oliver Bearman positively acknowledging Sebastian Vettel's message to him during his F1 debut. One fan cleverly twisted Vettel's famous quotes about being a Ferrari fan and stated how everyone is the German driver's fan. Others also joined in and praised the four-time world champion.
"Everyone is a Vettel fan. Even if they say they're not, they are vettel fans," a fan wrote.
A few fans cheered Oliver Bearman and talked about the massive opportunity he received from Ferrari.
"Oliver probably still thinks he’s living in a dream! What a moment for the young star! He has a great future ahead of him," another fan exclaimed.
Since many fans are bored of Max Verstappen dominating the sport, one of them joked that they would be supporting the Ferrari junior after Verstappen wins eight world titles and retires when his contract expires at Red Bull in 2028.
"I know whom to support when max inevitably retires after winning 8 in a row in 2028," one fan joked.
Ferrari junior reflects on his first F1 race at the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP
Oliver Bearman explained the physical toll he experienced during his first F1 race at Jeddah. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, he joked that Lewis Hamilton helped him out of the car after they returned to Parc Ferme.
"[Lewis] was basically pulling me out of the car because I was struggling. It was really physical. In a race like this – one of the lowest-degradation tracks of the season and one of the highest lateral G – you are pretty much doing 50 qualifying laps," Bearman said.
Oliver Bearman has been part of the Ferrari junior program since 2021. He currently races in the F2 Championship with Prema Racing, alongside Mercedes junior driver Kimi Antonelli.
