Lewis Hamilton was a childhood hero of Ferrari rookie Ollie Bearman while Fernando Alonso was in the midst of his first championship winning year when the young Briton was born in May, 2005.
On Friday in Jeddah, an unexpected turn of events propelled the 18-year-old into the big time, and on Saturday he was walking, talking and racing among motorsports’ elite.
Young drivers spend years honing their skills, dreaming of the day they'll share the grid with their idol or role models.
This weekend, that dream became reality for Britain’s youngest ever F1 driver, who transitioned overnight from watching legends in action to battling them wheel-to-wheel... in a Ferrari!
"I grew up watching these guys fighting and it was nice to share the track with them," Bearman said. "It was a pleasure to have their recognition.
"[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."
Well done, Ollie!
