19-year-old F1 debutant Oliver Bearman was shocked when he failed his street driving test.
At the F1 race in Saudi Arabia on March 9, Bearman was unexpectedly promoted to compete for Ferrari when his senior Carlos Sainz suffered from appendicitis and could not participate. Bearman finished 11th in qualifying, and seventh in the main race, earning 6 points. The British talent became the youngest driver in history to earn points in his debut race in F1.
Oliver Bearman after the qualifying round of the F1 race in Saudi Arabia on March 8, 2024. Photo: Reuters
Bearman's performance has been praised by legends, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton saying he would never have been ready to compete in F1 at Bearman's age.
However, Bearman failed his street driving test at the age of 17, when he was a member of the Ferrari youth team in the F3 race. His driving instructor at the time said that Bearman had made a serious mistake in obeying traffic lights, so he failed.
"We used a BMW for the lessons," said driving instructor David Currey. "I don't know if Bearman failed because he crossed the line or didn't stop at the stop light. I just know that when he failed, I said, 'What the hell? You've been driving since you were a kid.' But Bearman was polite, asked me a lot of questions, and found a way to pass the test again."
On his first retake, Bearman passed without a single mistake. “Every year, only a few of my students pass the test with a perfect score,” Currey added. “The street license was just a small aspect for Bearman, but I was proud to help him pass the test.”
Bearman is not the first F1 driver to fail his street driving test. 2009 world champion Jenson Button failed his first attempt. Former Lotus driver Alex Zanardi also had to wait until he retested to get his license.
An F1 license is not the same as a street license. Drivers like Max Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat passed their F1 tests before they even got their street licenses. Verstappen once said he almost failed his street test because he didn't give way to a pedestrian. "Luckily I passed, otherwise it would have been funny," the three-time world champion revealed.
Xuan Binh (according to Marca )
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