Since making his debut in 2007, Lewis Hamilton has gone on to become one of the legends of F1. Today’s up-and-coming stars look up to him as inspiration, as does Oliver Bearman. To make things more special for him, Hamilton sent a video to Bearman, motivating him on his journey many years ago. Now, Bearman gets emotional as he proves his hero right.
On Thursday, ahead of the British GP, Haas announced that Bearman would be their full-time driver from 2025 onwards, having signed a multi-year contract with the American outfit. In the press conference, he said, “I received a video from Lewis in 2015 or 2016. And he said ‘Keep pushing and hopefully you can make it to F1 one day’ and here I am.”
omg here’s the video Ollie was talking about pic.twitter.com/x8ysVd7jBZ https://t.co/RcFZtHxmed
— sin ⁴⁴ (@44britcedes) July 4, 2024
It was a special moment for Bearman, whose F1 dream became official in his home race weekend. But he isn’t a stranger to the pinnacle of motorsports and is 14th in this year’s Drivers Standing with six points to his name.
That is because he made his debut at the Saudi Arabian GP as Carlos Sainz’s replacement, as the Spaniard had to undergo surgery for appendicitis. He finished seventh and showed the world how talented he is. Now, he will get the chance to do the same regularly from 2025 onwards.
Bearman was a year old when Hamilton made his F1 debut and next year, the two will share the grid. But the seven-time World Champion wasn’t the only driver to congratulate Bearman.
Lando Norris and George Russell join Hamilton
Earlier this year, when Bearman scored points on his F1 debut, he was congratulated by all the drivers. George Russell, Lando Norris, and Hamilton all believed in Bearman getting a permanent F1 seat after his performance. As he has now confirmed the 2025 seat, all three British drivers have come out to congratulate him.
“He did a phenomenal job earlier this year. Bright young talent and I think it’s great that the UK is pumping out a lot of great young talented drivers”, said Hamilton during the Media day at Silverstone.
Hamilton’s teammate Russell spoke on the same lines and said, “Clearly Ollie is a great driver and it’s great to see four Brits on the grid and I think it just goes to show the strength of British motorsport.” McLaren driver Norris added, “I’m excited to see him on the grid next year. He deserves it.”
Bearman became Haas’ first official driver for the 2025 season, but there is still no clarity as to who his teammate will be.
