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4 months ago
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Essex-born teenager Oliver Bearman made history at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix when he became the youngest British driver in Formula One history - and now he's got a permanent seat, as Mail Sport exclusively revealed last month.
The then-18-year-old picked up six World Championship points - still more than six drivers on the grid this year - in his Ferrari back in March, showing off the talent he possesses amid a stint in Formula Two.
He has since returned to the second division, winning his first race of the season in Austria last weekend, showing how he's ready to take the leap to the big stage - if he hadn't proved that already.
Rather than a Ferrari, though, this time he will be in a Haas. He will have to work his way up again - not exactly thrown in at the deep end, but given the chance to prove himself.
But who is the star who is trying to take motor racing by storm, 20 years Lewis Hamilton's junior and potentially the next torch carrier for the British game? Mail Sport takes a look.
British teenager Oliver Bearman has signed his first full-time deal with Haas from next year
The Ferrari Academy driver has enjoyed a rapid rise to F1, making his debut earlier on this year
Bearman is dating Estelle Oglivy, who has over 100,000 followers on TikTok
Upbringing
Bearman was born in Chelmsford, Essex, in May 2005 and began karting competitively in 2013 when he raced in the championship of the Trent Valley Kart Club.
His younger brother, Thomas, is also a karting driver, while he also has a sister. His father, David, is the founder and chief executive of insurance firm Aventum Group.
He went to private school as a child and had to convince his mum, Terri, to allow him to drop out, telling Mail Sport last year that he eventually earned her approval to leave his family behind to join the Ferrari Driver Academy at the end of 2021.
The green light signalled a move to a move to Italy, where he joined the academy 12 miles north of Ferrari's Maranello factory in the north of the country. He has since developed an Italian twang.
'Maybe I got a bit lucky not to get the Essex accent,' he told Mail Sport. 'A lot of people have told me my accent has changed, even if I don't notice it.'
Bearman told Mail Sport last year of how he had to convince his mum, Terri (right) to let him drop out of private school
Relationships
Bearman is thought to be dating 21-year-old TikTok star Estelle Ogilvy, who has over 100,000 followers on both Instagram and the video platform.
Details of how Ogilvy and Bearman met are scarce, as the couple keep their relationship very under wraps, with very few pictures of them together published.
One snap was shared of the couple in March, though it was swiftly deleted.
With over 2.6million likes received on her TikTok account, Ogilvy regularly shares outfit inspiration and snapshots of her travels with her followers, though is yet to show off Bearman on a large scale.
Alongside her social media work, Estelle - who is of French and British heritage - is studying for a Postgraduate Diploma in law in London, hoping to complete the Solicitors Qualifying Examination.
The busy TikTok star goes by Silly Lettuce on social media, with Bearman's team-mates at Prema Racing teasing the teen in TikTok videos referencing his girlfriend.
Detials of how Ogilvy, 21, and Bearman met are scarce, with few photos of them posted online
Alongside her social media work, Estelle - who is of French and British heritage - is studying for a Postgraduate Diploma in law in London
Life in motor racing
After life in the Trent Valley Kart Club, Bearman began competing in the Super One National Championships. By 2020, he was in the ADAC Formula Four Championship and Italian F4, and continued to progress from there.
In the 2021 season, he joined Van Amersfoort Racing to compete in the German and Italian F4 Championships, at one point winning seven races in a row.
In October that year, he began life in Formula Three, taking part in post-season testing with Prema, then driving for the team in the 2022 season. He finished third in the Championship.
In November 2022 it was announced that he'd be taking part in the Formula Two season with Perma and he finished sixth in the championship. This season has been a struggle - he's secured just 28 points and is down in 14th in the Championship, though his partner, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, has had similar struggles and is ninth.
In 2023, he made his Formula One debut with Haas in free practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix, finishing 15th and being on the same track as some of the greats.
'When I heard Hamilton was coming up behind me on a push lap I was like, "Wow, I will get out of the way",' he said after the session. He will be doing anything but if the same happens next year.
Bearman is the third youngest driver ever to race in a Formula One car. Those ahead of him - Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll - aren't doing too badly. But for every success, there is a failure. And he will want to make sure he is on the right side of history.
Bearman began karting aged 13 and worked his way up the ranks, including two years in Formula Two (pictured)
The 2024 season has been difficult in Fomula Two alongside Mercedes prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli (right)
The Saudi Arabia Grand Prix
As Ferrari's reserve driver for this season, Bearman was first in line for a drive when Carlos Sainz went down with appendicitis in practice.
Strolling into qualifying with no practice sessions under his belt, the rookiest of rookies qualified 11th, narrowly missing out on the third and final qualifying session in Saudi Arabia.
When the race came around, he kept his cool in one of the top cars, reaching seventh in his first race in the sport. In doing so, he became the youngest driver to score points on debut in history.
Hamilton, who made his debut when Bearman was short of 18 months old, branded his fellow Brit a 'future star' after the race, describing his run as 'phenomenal'.
'It showed what I was capable of,' Bearman this week said, speaking prior to the British Grand Prix. 'The guys with less experience are not so far behind the normal cohort.'
He was called up to take part in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix in March and finished seventh
He received widepread for his performance, qualifying 11th and finishing seventh overall
Lewis Hamilton (left) labelled his fellow Brit's drive 'phenomenal' and said he was a 'future star'
He has penned his deal with Haas ahead of 2024 British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend
Signing with Haas
Bearman doesn't have to worry about safety when it comes to his first Formula One gig - off-the-track at least. He has penned a multi-year deal with the team, who have scored a total of 19 points this season - 14 through Nico Hulkenberg - who he will replace - and five through Kevin Magnussen, and work closely with Ferrari.
'It's hard to put into words just how much this means to me,' Bearman said upon signing his deal. 'To say out loud that I will be an F1 driver for Haas makes me so immensely proud.
'To be one of the very few people who get to do the thing that they dreamed of as a child is something truly incredible.'
'More than ready for the task,' Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has said of his man. The next British world champion? Maybe.
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