Oliver Bearman became the first British driver to start an F1 race for Ferrari in the 21st century at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The 18-year-old stepped in for Carlos Sainz after he withdrew from the weekend due to appendicitis so, as Ferrari’s reserve driver, Bearman received the opportunity.
Bearman impressed as well, as he finished seventh on his F1 debut at Jeddah Corniche Circuit making him the first Briton since Eddie Irvine in 1999 to drive for Ferrari.
He is now one of 11 British drivers to have started a grand prix for the famous Italian marque, so who are the rest?
Mike Hawthorn (1953-55, 1957-58)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
45 |
35 |
|
F1 world championships |
1 (1958) |
1 (1958) |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
3 |
3 |
|
Pole positions |
4 |
4 |
|
Podiums |
18 |
16 |
Mike Hawthorn was the first British driver to start a grand prix for Ferrari having made his debut with the team at the 1953 Argentine GP. The Yorkshireman finished fourth that day, yet it was only three races later that Hawthorn claimed his maiden victory at the 1953 French GP.
Hawthorn raced for Ferrari in all but two of his seven F1 seasons, which includes winning the 1958 championship which makes him just one of two Britons to have sealed the drivers’ crown with the team in red.
He then retired following his championship victory but six weeks after announcing retirement, Hawthorn sadly died on a wet day in Surrey as he lost control of his Jaguar which caused him to skid sideways into a roadside tree.
Peter Collins (1956-58)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
32 |
20 |
|
F1 world championships |
0 |
0 |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
3 |
3 |
|
Pole positions |
0 |
0 |
|
Podiums |
9 |
9 |
Peter Collins served as Hawthorn’s team-mate in 1958 having joined Ferrari two years prior for his fifth season of grand prix racing. Collins had a strong opening campaign with two race victories, while more podiums followed in 1957 ahead of his final grand prix win the following year at Silverstone.
That would be Collins’ final win though, as at the next race the Kidderminster driver was killed at the Nurburgring. Collins was pushing to overtake Tony Brooks on lap 11 until he went wide in the Pflanzgarten section, which caused the Ferrari driver to crash into a ditch and fly into a tree before dying later that day.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Autosport.com – Formula 1 – Stories…