Oliver Bearman may have nailed his F1 debut at the first attempt after his exceptional debut for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. But the teenage sensation did not have as much luck when attempting to pass his driver’s test in the United Kingdom.
The 18-year-old jumped into the SF-24 with barely an hour’s notice after Carlos Sainz underwent appendix surgery, and got in the car for the FP3 session before qualifying 11th in Jeddah.
He then followed up his impressive first outing in the Scuderia with a superb, controlled drive to finish seventh and pick up six points – beating seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the process.
But it wasn’t long ago that the Ferrari prodigy failed his driver’s test on the normal roads at the age of 16. According to his former driving instructor, the Chelmsford-born youngster received a ‘major’ fault against his name for his “response to traffic lights”.
Bearman hired David Currey, who charges $45-an-hour, for a two-hour lesson before his test after getting in touch on Instagram. At the time, the racer was driving in Formula 3 and had a BMW as his road vehicle.
“We did the lesson in his BMW. I felt totally safe even though I didn’t have my foot controls,” Currey said. “He had failed his test before on a traffic-light fault. I am not sure if it was for running an amber.
“Maybe he didn’t stop. Or it could have been how he was positioned at the lights. When he failed he was a bit like, ‘What the hell’. I mean, he has been driving since a kid.
“But he was so polite and just wanted to learn how to pass. He asked a lot of questions and seemed very down-to-earth, a great lad.”
Bearman gets the job done
He wouldn’t be denied for too long and, on his second try, Bearman passed the test with no major or minor faults.
“When he sent me a text saying he had passed with no minors I wrote, ‘Well done lad!’,” Currey added.
“Oliver sent me a picture of him and his pass certificate. I only have two or three students a year that pass with no faults. His dad and family deserve all the credit. His road test was only a small part but I’m proud I helped him pass it.”
Bearman has been tipped for a bright future in motorsport and will now return to Prema Racing in Formula 2, where he will spend the rest of the season before weighing up a possible drive in 2025.