Reserve drivers who have competed in F1

Oliver Bearman received a shock call-up to the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz withdrew because of appendicitis.

The 18-year-old therefore became the third-youngest driver to ever compete in an F1 grand prix after getting the opportunity due to being Ferrari’s reserve.

But there have been many other occasions in the 21st Century when a team’s reserve has entered a grand prix in place of one of its main drivers. Here are 10 times it has happened in recent F1 history…

Sebastian Vettel, BMW Sauber F1.07

Photo by: Sutton Images

Team: BMW-Sauber
Race: 2007 United States Grand Prix
Race finish: 8th

Sebastian Vettel was 16 days shy of his 20th birthday when he made his F1 debut for BMW-Sauber, after Robert Kubica suffered a heavy crash at the race prior in Montreal. Vettel had been BMW-Sauber’s reserve driver since August 2006 and in his first practice session, FP1 for the 2006 Turkish GP, the eventual four-time world champion claimed the record for the fastest ever penalty – nine seconds – after speeding in the pitlane.

Vettel was eventually given his proper F1 debut for the team at the 2007 United States GP where he was impressive from the off in Indianapolis. A teenage Vettel reached Q3 before finishing 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 2007 BMW-Sauber released Vettel to Toro Rosso meaning he only drove one grand prix for the squad.

Oliver Bearman

Oliver Bearman, Ferrari SF-24, Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber C44

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Team: Ferrari
Race: 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Race finish: 7th

Bearman became another teenager to score points in F1 when he impressed on his debut for Ferrari. So surprising was the F1 call that Bearman started the weekend in F2 and claimed pole position for the feature race, but had to withdraw once Sainz was deemed not fit enough to compete.

The Briton’s first session was final practice and despite such limited time in the cockpit, Bearman qualified 11th having been less than one tenth of a second off Q3. Bearman stepped it up in the race as he climbed up to seventh and scored six points for Ferrari after fending off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps.

Luca Badoer, Ferrari

Photo by: Sutton Images

Team: Ferrari
Races: 2009 European Grand Prix-2009 Belgian Grand Prix
Best finish: 14th

Not every reserve driver has impressed when racing for the Scuderia though. Luca Badoer made his Ferrari debut at the age of 38, 10 years after his last F1 appearance, due to Felipe Massa fracturing his skull at the Hungaroring when his helmet was struck by a piece of suspension from Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP car.

Given the context Badoer was expected to struggle, but maybe not as much as he actually did – he qualified last in Valencia and was 1.5 seconds off the next driver. The struggles…