Oliver Bearman responds to ‘annoying’ Lewis Hamilton overtake in first on-track duel

Oliver Bearman was full of praise for Lewis Hamilton as the pair went toe-to-toe in Azerbaijan on Sunday, but ever the racer, he found it “annoying” that the seven-time World Champion found his way by.

Hamilton overtook his fellow Briton into Turn 1 as he was making his way through the field from a pit-lane start, but had been held behind for some time as the Mercedes driver looked to make headway.

Oliver Bearman reacts to Lewis Hamilton battle at Azerbaijan GP

Despite it only being his second Grand Prix start, as a stand-in for Kevin Magnussen while he served a race ban, Bearman’s competitive spirit meant he admitted his frustration at seeing the Mercedes driver eventually make his way by.

Nonetheless, in crossing the line 10th and one place behind Hamilton, Bearman earned a unique distinction within the Formula 1 history books – becoming the first driver to score points in each of his first two races, while driving for two different teams.

He is also the first driver since Alex Albon in 2019 to score points while driving two different cars, but reflecting on his tussle with Hamilton in Baku, Bearman said he enjoyed the experience, but the racer in him was frustrated to see him go past.

“We were going like a yo-yo, quite a lot,” the teenager told reporters after the race in Baku.

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“I was really pushing hard for some laps to overtake Franco [Colapinto] and my tyres were really hot, and it was exactly at that point that he pounced on me and he could overtake me quite easily.

“After that, I needed a few laps, then I caught him back up, and I was almost catching the DRS again. So, it’s annoying that I let him overtake. But you know, a guy like that, you can’t do little mistakes.”

As for the experience of going wheel-to-wheel with the most statistically successful driver in the history of the sport, however, Hamilton offered both Bearman and Colapinto a handshake after the race in parc fermé as they ended their respective afternoons.

On how it felt to race the future Ferrari driver, the current Scuderia junior added: “Well, you know when you go around the outside that he’s going to leave you space, which is a nice feeling.

“Like in Turn 1, I knew he wasn’t going to put me in the wall, which is a bit less sure with some other drivers. So, that’s a nice feeling, and it’s always very clean but hard when I was racing.”

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