Ollie Bearman’s heroic debut and more winners and losers from qualifying at F1 Saudi Arabian GP

Photo by Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images

The Ferrari reserve delivered an incredible F1 debut on Friday at Jeddah Corniche Circuit

Ollie Bearman went to bed Thursday night as a Formula 2 driver, having qualified on pole for this weekend’s F2 feature race.

Friday brought a change of plans.

Shortly after lunch on Friday he was a Formula 1 driver. Not only was Bearman suddenly the youngest driver in F1 history to make their debut for Ferrari, but he was also the youngest driver in the team’s storied history. News broke Friday ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that Carlos Sainz Jr., who missed media duties on Wednesday due to illness, was facing surgery for appendicitis. That sidelined Sainz for Friday’s FP3 session as well as qualifying, opening the door for Bearman, their reserve driver, to make his F1 debut.

Bearman was strong, given his inexperience, in FP3 as the rookie placed P10 in his first F1 practice session:

Ahead of qualifying former David Coulthard cited his inexperience as something that could be a trump card for the Ferrari reserve.

“You just don’t know what you don’t know,” stated Coulthard ahead of Q1 on F1TV.

It did not take long for the young driver to Bearman to turn some heads. Early in Q1 Bearman posted a very strong lap, that put him up into P4 on the board and even ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, who was in P5.

It was enough to force a nervous dad to catch his breath:

When time ran out at the end of Q1, Bearman was up in P9, having gone through to Q2 completely on merit.

In the second session, Bearman aborted his first push lap after a lockup, and only had about five minutes to put a solid time on the board. His next attempt at a push lap saw him climb into P11, leaving him just around two minutes to secure a spot Q3.

He came up just short, missing the cut by just 0.036 seconds behind of Lewis Hamilton, who squeaked into Q3 in P10.

Still …

For an 18-year-old driver to come that close to knocking out a seven-time champion is an incredible performance, and Bearman deserves a massive amount of credit. His day began with dreams of an F2 win starting from pole position.

It ends with visions of points in his F1 debut.

Here are the full qualifying results, as well as some other winners and losers from Friday’s sessions ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix:

Winner – Charles Leclerc

Bearman’s impressive debut was not the only incredible moment for Ferrari on Friday.

Because his new teammate, Charles Leclerc, put his SF-24 on the front row, alongside Max Verstappen.

Leclerc advanced to Q3 having posted the second-best time in Q2, and while he seemed frustrated at times with his car and his performance, he finished Q3 in P2 as well. It given Ferrari a solid chance for a second-straight podium, and with Bearman starting down in P11, the team has a very good shot at a double-points result.

Which, given the emergency situation with Sainz they faced on Friday morning, would be a very welcome result for Ferrari.

Losers – Sauber

For the second week in a row, Sauber saw both drivers eliminated in Q1.

However, this does need a bit of context.

Zhou Guanyu failed to advance to Q2 as he could not post a time in Q1. But the mere fact he was able to partake in Q1 was nothing short of a miracle, and a credit to the team in the garage.

Zhou brought out a red flag late in FP3 with this hard crash, which caused tremendous damage to his C44 and forced the team to work extra to make sure he was ready for qualifying:

The crew in the garage won their race against time, as Zhou — who reported immediately after his crash into the barrier that he was okay — was back on the track shortly before Q1 ended:

Zhou took to the track with just over two minutes left in Q1, which did not give him much time to post a lap. The driver pushed as hard as he could but did not have enough time to put a time on the board. As he returned to the garage, Zhou thanked his team for their hard work in the garage, as they had done everything they could to give him a chance

As for teammate Valtteri Bottas, he was able to put some laps on the board, but could only manage a P16. He did express some frustration as he narrowly missed out on Q2, and felt he was held up by traffic on his final push lap.

So for the second week in a row, Sauber saw both drivers sidelined for Q2. Still, while at first blush the failure of Zhou to advance to Q2 may look like a loss, the mere fact he was on the track goes into the books as a win. Hopefully, Sauber’s race pace shows a bit more on Saturday, a strong possibility given what the team showed last week in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Winner – Yuki Tsunoda

Coming out of the Bahrain Grand Prix the focus at Visa Cash App RB F1 Team — and perhaps around the greater F1 world — was the incident in the closing laps between Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo.

Facing criticism over his reaction to team orders, and having admitted he needed to show some more maturity if he was going to secure a seat at Red Bull next season, Tsunoda needed a strong performance this week.

He did his job on Friday, pushing into Q3 with the kind of qualifying performance the team, and the F1 world, were hoping to see from him. He will start the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in P9, in very good position to deliver his first points of the season.

And perhaps VCARB’s first points of the 2024 campaign.

Losers – Alpine

The challenging start at Alpine continues.

For the second week in a row, similar to Sauber, Alpine saw both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly eliminated in Q1. Ocon finished Q1 in P17, with Gasly right behind in him P18. That means yet again, Alpine will see their drivers start at the back of the grid, hoping for a Saturday miracle.

Alpine has gone through a number of changes so far this year, revamping their technical department similar to what McLaren did a season ago. The team will now use a three-pronged approach on the technical side of things, creating three specialised technical roles: Technical Director (Performance), Technical Director (Aerodynamics) and Technical Director (Engineering), replacing the previous structure of a singular Technical Director.

All three will report to Team Principal Bruno Famin.

Still, the struggles persist for the team, as their duo will start at the back of the grid for the second-straight week. Hopefully for Alpine, brighter days are ahead, and the team can follow a similar development pattern as McLaren did a season ago. After enduring similar struggles with the MCL60 a season ago, McLaren implemented their own organizational shuffle, opening the door for a charge up the standings.

Alpine is aiming for something similar, but it might feel light years away at the moment.

Winners – Aston Martin

Aston Martin began their 2024 season with a double-points finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

With their performance on Friday, they have a chance for another one in Saudi Arabia.

Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso both advanced to Q3, with Stroll finishing in P10, and Alonso challenging for the front row before settling for P4 behind the Red Bull duo and Charles Leclerc.

Coming into the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the word around Aston Martin was that this week could see a step forward from them. The circuit in Saudi Arabia — and in particular the racing surface — was perhaps a better fit for the AMR24. “I made the trip from Bahrain to Jeddah on Tuesday, and the race we have on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is a very, very different proposition. It couldn’t be more different. The focus in Jeddah is on high-speed and lower drag levels. The surface is very, very smooth; the [tires] last a lot longer. On paper, it should suit us a little bit more,” said Team Principal Mike Krack in Aston Martin’s race preview this week.

If Friday is any indication, he was exactly right.

Losers – Haas

Friday delivered absolute heartbreak for Nico Hülkenberg and the entire team at Haas.

Both Hülkenberg and teammate Kevin Magnussen advanced to Q2, with the VF-24 showing strong qualifying pace for the second week in a row. However early in that second session Hülkenberg’s day came to an unexpected close. The driver was on a push lap, but experienced a sudden loss of power midway through his run. He managed to guide his VF-24 to the side of the track and off the racing line, but his day was finished and a red flag came out, briefly halting the second session.

Haas was a sneaky pick this week, given their one-lap pace and their qualifying potential. The team believed points were on offer, if only they could put in a strong performance Friday. Getting both drivers into Q2 put them on a path to perhaps achieving that goal, but seeing Hülkenberg guide his car to a stop crushed those goals.

Unfortunately for the team, points seem a tough ask at the moment. Hülkenberg will now start back in P15, and as for Magnussen, he failed to advance out of Q2, and will start in P13.

On a circuit where overtaking comes at a premium.

Winners – McLaren

Stop me if you have heard this before.

But McLaren had a brutal start to the 2023 F1 season.

A year ago at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Lando Norris failed to advance out of Q1 when he hit the wall on his second push lap and the front-end suspension of his MCL60 broke. Teammate Oscar Piastri managed to advance to Q3, but despite his starting spot inside the top ten, the team failed to secure any points in the race, and their account was empty after the first two weeks of the season.

2024 is a much different story.

McLaren posted a double-points finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Norris finishing in P6 and Piastri in P8. The 12 points the team banked in Bahrain was their first positive result in the season-opening race since 2021, when Norris finished fourth.

Now the team is poised for another double-points finish, thanks to what happened on Friday. Both Norris and Piastri advanced into Q3, and they will start alongside each other on Saturday, with Piastri in P5 and Norris in P6. A third-row lockout for the team, and a chance for another bunch of points tomorrow.

Winners – Red Bull

Oh yeah, those guys.

When the dust settled on Friday, Max Verstappen was yet again at the front of the field, putting his RB20 into P1 for the second week in a row. He was joined into the top three by teammate Sergio Pérez, last year’s pole sitter.

The performance from Red Bull gives them a very good chance at locking out the front row for the second-straight week, and for the second-straight season in Saudi Arabia.

“I didn’t get much of an improvement on the last lap, which is where we missed the front row. Max has done a tremendous lap, which was not possible for me today. But we are in the fight for tomorrow, I think it will be a fun race with plenty of action,” said Pérez following qualifying.

For Verstappen, it marks the first time ever he will start from pole position in Saudi Arabia. He was on pace to capture pole position in the inaugural 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, have been fastest through the first two sectors on his final run. But he managed to clip the wall in the third sector, breaking the suspension on his car and ending any shot at P1.

Now he finally has that line to add to a growing — and impressive — resume.

“It was a bit like the failed ‘21 lap, but then of course I made it to the last corner,” exclaimed Verstappen after qualifying.

Yet another strong day for Red Bull.