2024 Saudi Arabian GP FP3: Oliver Bearman Debuts With Max Top

In the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix’s last practice session before qualifying, Max Verstappen led the timings while Oliver Bearman made his debut with Ferrari.

Bearman, a British driver aged 18, is filling in for Carlos Sainz for the rest of the weekend in Jeddah due to Sainz’s appendicitis requiring surgical intervention.

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Verstappen and Lance Stroll are historically the only F1 drivers to start their full F1 careers at a younger age, with Bearman now the youngest driver for Ferrari.

Early on, Bearman hit the track, focusing on gathering as much experience as possible on the medium tyres. He briefly led the timings ahead of Lewis Hamilton and finished the session in 10th position, narrowly trailing the session leader Verstappen by less than a second.

Verstappen, the current world champion and winner of the season’s opening race in Bahrain, registered a time of 1:28.412. His performance remained unbeaten in his final attempt during the session’s last five minutes, which was affected by Zhou Guanyu’s big accident at Turns Seven and Eight.

Following a ten-minute pause due to the accident, the session resumed, allowing most drivers to complete a single fast lap. Charles Leclerc finished a mere 0.196 seconds behind Verstappen, while Sergio Perez was within half a second of the lead.

Saudi Arabian GP FP3 Results

2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, 8 March 2024

Driver	Team	Time
1) Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:28.412
2) Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.196
3) Sergio Perez	Red Bull	+0.494
4) George Russell	Mercedes	+0.552
5) Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.559
6) Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+0.626
7) Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+0.715
8) Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.801
9) Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.856
10) Oliver Bearman	Ferrari	+0.894
11) Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.073
12) Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1.134
13) Yuki Tsunoda	RB	+1.160
14) Esteban Ocon	Alpine	+1.163
15) Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	+1.263
16) Daniel Ricciardo	RB	+1.328
17) Alexander Albon	Williams	+1.396
18) Valtteri Bottas	Sauber	+1.671
19) Zhou Guanyu	Sauber	+2.327
20) Logan Sargeant	Williams	No Time

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Ben is our chief editor specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.