Oliver Bearman looks back on his first real on-track battle with Max Verstappen. The driver was on the grid for the first time as a full-time driver for the Haas team in 2025, and thanks to his ninth starting position, he was able to compete with the top of the field during the Mexico Grand Prix. For Bearman, the moment Verstappen appeared in his mirrors stands out most: ‘I got goosebumps then’.
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Oliver Bearman is starting his second season in Formula 1. The Haas driver debuted in 2025, and then took a fourth place as his best result during the Mexico GP. During the Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Bearman was able to truly fight with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen for the first time. The Briton looks back in the High Performance Podcast on the moment Verstappen appeared in his mirror.
“My first thought was: this is the first time I’m going to fight with Lewis, with Max… even with George Russell and Piastri. With all those drivers,” Bearman remembers. “I’ve seen some of them driving since I was little. Because Max has been in every Formula 1 race I can remember. In 2016 I was eleven, so Max was always driving, and Lewis too. And now I was racing with those guys side by side. Max was behind me. I got goosebumps while I was driving around with him nearby. I thought: how cool is this? This is bizarre. This guy is the best Formula 1 driver ever and he is hunting me. He’s putting me under so much pressure and I thought: this is what I live for, this is my life.”
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‘Max is simply the best’
Eventually, Verstappen also passed Bearman, and he finished on the podium ahead of the Haas driver. The Dutchman thus took important points in his title battle with the two McLaren drivers. According to Bearman, it was not surprising that he could not keep the world champion behind him. “You know how aggressive he is, you know that if you give him even an inch too much space, he will take it,” the young Briton continues. “He won’t forgive you even the smallest mistake. It’s Max, he’s the best. You know he is.”
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