Oliver Bearman has already done enough battling with Lewis Hamilton!

For many rookies, there’s nothing quite like the magic of competing against your Formula 1 heroes for the first time — but Haas driver Oliver Bearman is already over it!

Bearman took part in three Grands Prix in 2024 due to his role as reserve driver for both Haas and Ferrari, and there’s one driver in particular he found himself racing with: Lewis Hamilton.

Oliver Bearman ‘had enough of Lewis Hamilton’ in 2024

Though 19-year-old Oliver Bearman is about to embark on his first full-time Formula 1 season with the Haas team in 2025, the British racer collected three Grand Prix starts in 2024.

In 2022, when Bearman joined the Ferrari Driver Academy, he would have done so with the hope that he’d one day make it to the Formula 1 grid behind the wheel of a Ferrari-powered machine, but it’s very likely he didn’t expect his first start to take place at the second Grand Prix of 2024, when he was still contracted to Prema in Formula 2!

Yet heading into that race, Carlos Sainz fell ill with appendicitis and required surgery, which meant Bearman was drafted into the fold — becoming the youngest driver to race at Ferrari on his way to an impressive seventh-place finish.

Later in the season, Bearman was called into action again; in Azerbaijan, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen was hit with a race ban for an excess of penalty points, while at Sao Paulo, the Dane withdrew due to illness. He finished 10th and 12th, respectively.

Bearman has had a chance to race against a few of his heroes already — but there’s one he’s had enough of!

During media availability ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Bearman was asked about the experienced drivers he was most looking forward to racing in 2025.

He kicked off with a big one: “Max [Verstappen]. Then I would be doing very well!”

But aside from bringing a fight to the reigning world champion, Bearman admitted that he’s primarily interested in racing with the drivers he’s grown up watching.

“Of course, [there are] a lot of drivers with great experience,” he said of the F1 2025 grid.

“I mean, not a lot anymore, but a few of them that I grew up watching, they would probably be the guys that I want to race against the most, because they’ve always been part of my life in a way.

“I was watching Fernando [Alonso] and Lewis [Hamilton] all the way through my childhood, and now to share the track with them is a very special feeling.”

But he apparently had his fill of one of those two drivers last season.

“I got to race Lewis pretty much every race I did last year for some reason. We always ended together,” Bearman said.

“So I’ve had enough of racing Lewis!”

The Briton laughed, then added, “If I can get near to him this year, then it means the car is pretty quick. So that would be a good sign.”

Haas found stability and pace throughout 2024, with the team having been brought under the control of Ayao Komatsu. However, the driver lineup is completely new for 2025, bringing with it a sense of new possibilities and unpredictability.