Ollie Bearman: ‘There’s nothing that I wouldn’t have done to get to F1’

‘I proved to myself that I do [have what it takes] and confidence is generally something that I don’t struggle with,’ says Ollie Bearman. Photograph: Mario Renzi/Formula 1/Getty Images

There is an unmistakable air of steely determination about Ollie Bearman; an almost disquieting sense of purpose doubtless instrumental in propelling the 19-year-old British driver into Formula One with an eye-catching opening to his career.

Bearman is about to enter his first full season with the Haas team and while tearing most teenagers away from their friends is a torturous task, since he left home in Essex at 16 to pursue the dream of reaching F1, everything has been subsumed to the cause.