This race weekend, at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, 18-year-old Ollie Bearman drove in his first Formula 1 race after stepping in as Carlos Sainz’s replacement.

Carlos Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis a day before the race, and Ferrari rushed to find someone to fill in the empty spot. Sainz is set to miss the Australian Grand Prix and possibly the Japanese Grand Prix due to surgery recovery time.

Ferrari turned to Formula 2 teams to find the sub-in and with Bearman’s current standings, numerous international karting titles, his ranking in the 2022 Formula 3 championship, and a couple of Formula 4 titles, he looked to be the best fit.

Bearman only had a few hours to prepare for this race and there was a lot of pressure to perform well since this was his first time in Formula 1. What makes this even more remarkable, is the difference between F1 and F2. The G forces F1 drivers experience are extreme and typically have to withstand it for over 80 minutes, while F2 races only last for 60 minutes.

Overall, he ended in 7th place and he surpassed people’s expectations as a rookie and is placed 10th overall in the driver’s standings out of 21.