Berman: I panicked when Wasser called

In an interview with High Performance, Formula 2 driver Oliver Berman recalled the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah and the phone call from Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur, who unexpectedly announced that he would have to replace the ailing Carlos Sainz…

Oliver Berman: “I knew Carlos wasn’t feeling well, but I was thinking about Formula 2. I spoke briefly with his coach, who was my coach last year, more out of concern for Carlos, as Jeddah is a physically difficult circuit for drivers.

On qualifying day I was sitting with my manager Chris Harfield when he got a call from Fred Wasser. Usually a call from Fred during a race weekend doesn’t bode well. I knew he wasn’t calling to wish me luck for the F2 race, and I saw Chris’ face when he answered the phone. I knew Carlos wasn’t feeling well, I put these facts together and started to worry.

Chris’ phone died, so I called Fred back myself and he told me the news. He told me to calm down and just go to the track, and I panicked.

I think he understood everything – there was panic in my voice, I looked at my father, I think he understood everything immediately. When I walked into the paddock, the news wasn’t out yet. Nobody paid attention to me. I was just a Formula 2 driver who was just going to eat camper at Ferrari.

I was happy to keep my position at the start. During the training the clutch performance varied from 20 to 60%. At 60 percent you are going too slow, at 20% a system is activated that does not stall the engine. I just wanted to get going. Fortunately everything worked out.

I pressed the clutch, the car went relatively fast, I felt relieved and could continue the race. To be honest, I was mostly afraid that I would quit the race.

I ended up seventh, but I wasn’t particularly happy. My teammate got on the podium and I knew the car was capable of more. I was happy to finish the race without incident, but I knew I could have done a bit better. Then I saw my dad and everything fell into place.

I saw the emotion in his eyes. From the beginning, we came here together. I remember the first days when we woke up at 5-6 in the morning, when I burst into tears in the winter because my hands were cold. All these moments come to mind. That’s when I really realized the seriousness of what had happened.”