Oliver Bearman became one of the youngest drivers to start an F1 race when he made his debut at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The 18-year-old stepped in for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz as he withdrew from the race weekend due to appendicitis.
It meant Bearman became the 13th teenager to start an F1 grand prix, so who are the other 12 and how did they fare?
Max Verstappen (17 years and 165 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 2015 Australian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 187
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Grand prix wins: 56
Max Verstappen is the youngest driver to ever start a grand prix as he was just 17 years and 165 days old when he made his debut at the 2015 Australian GP. F1 had never seen anything like it, because when his move to Toro Rosso was announced, Verstappen was just 16 years old – meaning he couldn’t even legally drive on the road yet.
It immediately caused the FIA to introduce a rule saying future F1 drivers must be at least 18 years old, while they need to have spent at least two seasons in junior racing before reaching the top category, as Verstappen had only spent one year in F3.
Verstappen didn’t get a great start to his F1 career as he retired 32 laps into his debut due to an engine failure. But, for the rest of the season, Verstappen showcased the potential of being a future world champion, which included beating team-mate Sainz, and that led to his Red Bull promotion in 2016.
Lance Stroll (18 years and 147 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 2017 Australian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 145
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Grand prix wins: 0
Lance Stroll entered F1 in controversial circumstances like Verstappen, but for the Canadian it was because he brought financial backing to the Williams team who gave him his debut. However, that did come after a successful junior career where Stroll won the Italian F4 and F3 European championships so he and Williams argued that the teenager was signed based on performance.
Stroll’s F1 career didn’t get a great start though as his debut, the 2017 Australian GP, was the first of three consecutive retirements to commence the season. He finally scored points at the season’s seventh round in Montreal before claiming an astonishing podium in Baku just two weeks later – becoming the second-youngest podium finisher in F1 history at 18 years and 238 days old and just 11 days older than Verstappen’s first top three finish.
Oliver Bearman (18 years and 304 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 1
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Grand prix wins: 0
Bearman’s F1 opportunity came as a very big shock because it was announced just a few hours before final practice, so his time in the cockpit was very limited. Considering that, the Ferrari junior did a commendable job as he qualified 11th, just less than one-tenth off Q3, before finishing a solid seventh in the race.
It made him the third-youngest driver to ever start an F1 grand prix and came amid Bearman’s sophomore year in F2. So surprising was the call that Bearman had to withdraw from F2 that weekend, despite initially claiming pole position for the feature race.
Lando Norris (19 years and 123 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 2019 Australian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 106
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Grand prix wins: 0
Lando Norris became a McLaren junior in 2017 and from the outset, it was clear he was being prepared for a future F1 seat, as later that year he became the team’s official reserve driver. In September 2018, before Norris’ F2 campaign concluded, he was announced as a McLaren F1 driver for the 2019 season as part of an all-new lineup for the team alongside Sainz.
Norris’ debut came at the 2019 Australian GP which at the time made him the third youngest driver to ever start an F1 race at 19 years and 123 days. The McLaren driver finished outside of the points in Melbourne, despite reaching Q3, but the points soon came and that led to Norris receiving a contract extension midway through his impressive rookie campaign.
Jaime Alguersuari (19 years and 124 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 46
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Grand prix wins: 0
Jaime Alguersuari was previously F1’s youngest-ever driver to start a race as he made his debut at just 19 years and 124 days old at the 2009 Hungarian GP. Alguersuari’s maiden grand prix came with Toro Rosso at the season’s tenth round, as he replaced the underperforming Sebastien Bourdais who scored just two points in 2009.
However, coming straight from Formula Renault, F1 was a big step up for Alguersuari and he failed to score any points in 2009. It started with 15th in Hungary, where Alguersuari was the slowest driver in qualifying, before retiring from five of the remaining seven races.
He eventually scored his maiden points at the 2010 Malaysian GP, that season’s third round, before leaving Toro Rosso and F1 at the end of 2011. Alguersuari eventually retired from racing at just 25 years old and is now a DJ in his native Spain.
Mike Thackwell (19 years and 181 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 1980 Canadian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 2
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Grand prix wins: 0
Mike Thackwell held the youngest F1 driver record for 29 years as his maiden start was at the 1980 Canadian GP, aged just 19 years and 181 days old. The opportunity came after Thackwell finished eighth in the European F2 Championship, while also failing to qualify for the 1980 Dutch GP with Arrows.
Thackwell managed to qualify on his second attempt though, as he lined up last on the grid for Tyrrell in Montreal. However, his race ended at the first corner as a collision between front-row starters Nelson Piquet and Alan Jones triggered a multi-car pile-up which included Thackwell. Although Thackwell technically started the grand prix, the crash caused a red flag and his Tyrrell car was handed to Jean-Pierre Jarier for the restart. The New Zealander only had one more grand prix start after that, as he retired on lap 30 of the 1984 Canadian GP due to a turbo failure.
Ricardo Rodriquez (19 years and 207 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 1961 Italian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 5
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Grand prix wins: 0
Ricardo Rodriguez was the first teenager to start an F1 grand prix as he made his debut at the 1961 Italian GP - aged 19 years and 207 days old - after showcasing huge potential on motorcycles and in sportscar racing. At the 1960 Le Mans 24 Hours, for example, Rodriguez came second in a Ferrari 250 making him still the youngest driver with a podium finish at Circuit de la Sarthe at the age of 18 years and 132 days.
It prompted Ferrari to give Rodriguez an F1 seat where he claimed another record, as the Mexican qualified a surprise second at Monza which made him the youngest driver to start from the front row until Verstappen at the 2016 Belgian GP. However, the race did not go as well because Rodriguez retired just 13 laps into his F1 debut due to a fuel pump failure.
Only a year later though, aged just 20, Rodriguez sadly died after hitting the barrier at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in practice for the inaugural Mexican GP.
Fernando Alonso (19 years and 217 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 2001 Australian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 379
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Grand prix wins: 32
Fernando Alonso was just a teenager when he made his F1 debut at the 2001 Australian GP with Minardi. Minardi gave Alonso the opportunity after he spent 2000 as its reserve driver - a role he shared alongside a seat in F3000 where the Spaniard finished fourth in the standings.
However, success was much harder to come by in his rookie F1 season as Alonso finished the year on zero points before teaming up with Renault for 2002. Despite making his debut so young, Alonso is still racing into his 40s and the 2024 season is his 21st campaign in the series having already broken the driver record for the most F1 starts.
Esteban Tuero (19 years and 319 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 1998 Australian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 16
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Grand prix wins: 0
Minardi shocked the F1 world when it gave Esteban Tuero a seat for the 1998 season despite the teenager having little experience in racing. Before F1, Tuero drove F3 and F3000 in 1996 before moving to Japan’s Formula Nippon for 1997, where he scored just one point. This was still enough to get a superlicence though, while he also held a testing role for Minardi.
Tuero made his F1 debut at the 1998 Australian GP where an engine failure retired him 22 laps in after qualifying 17th on the grid. Tuero failed to score a point that season and he damaged the vertebrae in his neck at the final race when his Minardi sprung into the air at Suzuka following a collision with Tyrrell’s Toranosuke Takagi. Tuero then quit F1 shortly before the 1999 season, despite Minardi planning to run him again.
Chris Amon (19 years and 323 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 1963 Belgian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 96
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Grand prix wins: 0
Chris Amon was just the second teenager to start an F1 race when he competed in the 1963 Belgian GP aged just 19 years and 323 days old.
Amon’s debut came with Reg Parnell Racing after he impressed the team founder in the 1962 New Zealand Winter Series, so the Kiwi eventually moved to England to pursue an F1 career. The eventual 11-time podium finisher drove a Lola Mk4A on his debut, yet Amon retired 10 laps in due to an oil leak after qualifying 15th.
Daniil Kvyat (19 years and 323 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 2014 Australian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 110
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Grand prix wins: 0
Daniil Kvyat was the same age as Amon when he made his F1 debut, although it did come 51 years after the late man. Kvyat’s route to F1 was also more conventional as the Russian won the Formula Renault and GP3 Series titles in the two years before his Toro Rosso debut at the 2014 Australian GP.
He was there to replace Daniel Ricciardo, who had moved to Red Bull, and Kvyat impressed in Melbourne reaching Q3 before finishing ninth to score two points. More points followed in Kvyat’s rookie season which eventually led to him replacing Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull for 2015 until Verstappen took his seat a year later.
Esteban Ocon (19 years and 345 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 2016 Belgian Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 135
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Grand prix wins: 1
Esteban Ocon made his F1 debut just 20 days shy of his 20th birthday as the then-reigning GP3 champion drove for Manor at the 2016 Belgian GP. He started the year as Renault’s reserve driver though, alongside a DTM seat, yet Rio Haryanto left Manor after his financial backing had run dry meaning he could not meet his contractual obligations.
So, in came Ocon for the final nine grands prix of 2016 starting with 16th at Spa. Despite failing to score any points for the uncompetitive Manor, he impressed enough to secure a seat with Force India for 2017 kickstarting a long F1 career which has yielded a victory at the 2021 Hungarian GP for Alpine.
Sebastian Vettel (19 years and 348 days)
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Maiden grand prix start: 2007 United States Grand Prix
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Grand prix starts: 299
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Grand prix wins: 53
Vettel was also about to leave his teen years when the eventual four-time world champion made his maiden F1 start at the 2007 United States GP for BMW-Sauber. Indianapolis was the seventh round of the season and a 19-year-old Vettel, who had been BMW-Sauber’s reserve driver since 2006, was there to replace Robert Kubica who had a heavy crash at the race prior in Montreal.
The German impressed on his debut too, as he qualified seventh before finishing in the points-paying position of eighth, which at the time made him the youngest-ever F1 driver to score a point. Kubica returned for the following race, so later in the year BMW-Sauber released Vettel to Toro Rosso where he could replace Scott Speed for the Hungarian GP.
