LEWIS HAMILTON SENDS MESSAGE TO OLLIE BEARMAN WITH BRITISH TEEN SET TO JOIN F1

Sir Lewis Hamilton has congratulated ‘phenomenal’ Ollie Bearman on becoming the latest British Formula One driver after signing for Haas for 2025 and beyond.

The teenager made his F1 debut earlier this season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, standing in for the ill Carlos Sainz at Ferrari.

Despite being called up at late notice, the 19-year-old performed brilliantly and became the third youngest driver in the sport’s history behind only Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll.

Following this, it was heavily rumoured that the Ferrari junior would move to American team Haas who have close ties to the Scuderia, with the news officially confirmed on Thursday ahead of the British Grand Prix this weekend.

‘It’s hard to put into words just how much this means to me,’ Bearman said upon the announcement.

‘To say out loud that I will be a Formula 1 driver for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team makes me so immensely proud. To be one of the very few people who get to do the thing what they dreamed of as a child is something truly incredible.

‘To Gene [Haas, team owner], Ayao [Komatsu, team principal] and everyone at Haas, thank you for believing in me and for trusting me to represent your team. I can’t wait to enjoy this moment with them and hopefully many more in the future.

‘To everyone at the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy, quite simply, I wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you for preparing me since Formula 4 for this incredible opportunity and know I will give it everything I have.’

The news means that there will be four British drivers on the F1 grid next year, with Bearman racing alongside Hamilton who is set to join Ferrari, Mercedes’ George Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

In the pre-Silverstone press conference, the seven-time champion spoke highly of his fellow countryman, saying: ‘He did a phenomenal job earlier on this year.

‘A bright young talent and it’s great the UK is pumping out a lot of great, young, talented drivers. It’s amazing for the sport and takes some of the pressure of us!’ gesturing toward Russell and Norris.

It is not known how long Bearman’s ‘multi-year’ deal will last, though there has been speculation that Ferrari believe that if he fulfils his potential, he could well succeed Hamilton when the 39-year-old retires.

Asked if he would be taking the rookie under his wing, Hamilton replied: ‘No. But as one of the older drivers, my door is always open if anyone needs advice.’

It is not yet known who his Haas teammate will be, with current drivers Nico Hulkenberg set to depart for Sauber next season, while Kevin Magnussen is out of contract.

Various other drivers have been linked including Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.

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2024-07-04T08:53:59Z dg43tfdfdgfd