Ollie Bearman, who just signed a new multi-year deal with the Haas F1 team, reflected on what it means for him to race alongside his childhood heroes.

On Friday, July 4th, 2024, the Haas F1 team officially announced they signed a young, talented driver who is currently still racing in F2.

It was expected that we would see some new names on the grid in 2025, and Ollie Bearman became the first of them to sign a deal officially.

Getting a seat in F1 already in 2025 means the 19-year-old Briton will be racing alongside his childhood heroes like Lewis Hamilton, who has also sent him a personalized video around 2015/2016 that apparently had a huge influence on the youngster. Bearman said:

“It’s crazy! I was looking back. I received a video from him in 2015 or 2016 saying, ‘Keep pushing. Hopefully, you can make it to F1 one day,’ and here I am.”

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“It’s crazy to share the track with these guys who I’ve watched racing, even Fernando. It’s something pretty special.”

Here’s a fun fact about Bearman and Fernando Alonso: The Spaniard was already racing his fourth season in F1 (which he also won) when the future Haas F1 driver was born.

“And it’s a pinch yourself moment because these guys are, in my eyes, huge stars and people that I look up to, and it’s quite amazing that I’ll share the circuit with them.”

Asked how the video from the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton came about, the 19-year-old shared the story behind it:

“I think he met one of my mother’s friends or something like this. And she got him to make a video, and it was the most amazing day of my life. I just actually got reminded of it yesterday, I saw the video again. It was a funny moment.”