Ferrari F1 boss Vasseur told me “don’t be a hero”

Bearman was called in after Sainz was ruled out of the rest of the Jeddah event due to appendicitis, with the Spaniard requiring surgery.

The 18-year-old had to abandon his Prema F2 seat, having secured pole position for Saturday’s feature race, and had only FP3 in which to find his feet before heading into qualifying.

He made a strong impression with a confident performance that saw him just miss out on Q3 in 11th place.

Revealing the advice given to him by Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, Bearman said: “Fred, he doesn’t say much, but what he says, he means. He was very clear to me that I have to build it up, step-by-step. Don’t try to be a hero.

“Especially after FP3, which was already a good session, his goal for me was just to keep going like that, and build it up step-by-step.”

Although Sainz had felt unwell on Wednesday and Thursday, Bearman insisted that he had no idea that he might be required.

“Honestly, no,” he said when asked by Motorsport.com if he’d been put on standby. “I woke up this morning fully prepared and fully ready for my [reverse grid sprint] F2 race, starting from P10.

“I got the call pretty late on in the day, just a couple hours before FP3, that I will be doing it.

“Of course not the circumstances I would like to make my F1 debut, and I wish the best to Carlos and hope he recovers well. But nonetheless, it’s a fantastic opportunity.”

Bearman’s F1 debut carries with it some notable statistics, with him being the first driver to make their championship debut with Ferrari since Arturo Merzario in 1972 and the youngest British driver ever to compete for the Scuderia.

“The stars have aligned,” he said. “It’s been such a quick progression in my career.

“Two years ago, three years ago, I was in F4 still, I only did my first F1 test like three or four months ago.

“So it’s been a really quick progression. And yeah, to make my F1 debut in red, hopefully a sign of things to come.”

Bearman said the lack of warning worked in his favour, as he didn’t have time to appreciate the magnitude of the situation.

Oliver Bearman, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

“I honestly didn’t have time to get nervous or to overthink it,” he said. “Because it was so late that I literally had to focus straightaway on trying to get up to speed, and catch up the lost time.

“Having…