A big controversy, a lawsuit, the biggest name leaving his team to fulfill a personal dream, a driver lapping half the grid, and a rookie scoring big points on his debut–F1 has already seen it all and only 2 race weekends have been completed. Oliver Bearman was the positive highlight of all this, transforming a ‘boring’ F1 period (dominance-wise) into pure excitement. Moreover, for the man himself, it was the fulfillment of his “childhood dream” that mattered.

An 18-year-old Oliver Bearman took to the treacherous tracks of Jeddah to fill Carlos Sainz’s gigantic shoes. In doing so, he broke many records, including being the youngest British debutant and youngest Ferrari debutant (a 62-year-old record held previously by the late Ricardo Rodriguez). To top it all, he finished P7 and beat Lewis Hamilton in the process. And boy, was he ecstatic after.

“It’s a childhood dream come true,” said Bearman, as quoted by Motorsport Italy. “First of all, making your debut in a Ferrari. It’s an incredible achievement and I’m very proud of it, becoming the youngest British rider is also a great achievement and I think I was the third youngest rider ever, which is really fantastic.”

Read More: Oliver Bearman’s Haas F1 Seat “Guaranteed” With Lewis Hamilton Occupying Ferrari Seat Indefinitely: Peter Windsor

“Everybody is a Ferrari fan. Even if they say they are not, they are a Ferrari fan.” Sebastian Vettel‘s quote from years ago still holds true, as justified by Bearman’s comments. However, this isn’t the only connection between the two Ferrari drivers.

Oliver Bearman’s “Hero” Sebastian Vettel messaged him before his F1 Debut

Oliver Bearman was called on quite a short notice by Ferrari after Carlos Sainz bowed out to undergo an appendicitis surgery. The nerves were high but Sebastian Vettel, being the gentleman that he is, messaged the rookie with encouraging words. A message with weight that gave Bearman the push he needed.

“One of my heroes, Vettel, wrote to me before the start,” Bearman said in a post-race interview at Jeddah. “I thank Seb. It was really nice. It was a great emotion to run my first Formula 1 race with Scuderia Ferrari.”

Read More: Helmut Marko Gives Oliver Bearman His Seal of Approval; Toto Wolff Joins the Praise Parade – EssentiallySports

Like Liam Lawson for Red Bull, is Oliver Bearman Ferrari’s future World Champion in the making?