Formula One F1 - Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy - May 17, 2024 Haas' Oliver Bearman during practice REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo
SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) -Oliver Bearman will be Britain's fourth Formula One driver on the starting grid next season after the teenager signed a multi-year deal with Haas in what he said was a dream come true.
The Ferrari-backed 19-year-old, who was announced on Thursday ahead of his home grand prix at Silverstone, described it as a 'pinch yourself moment'.
He recalled also words of encouragement as a young karter from compatriot and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, the sport's most successful driver, who will be racing for Ferrari next year.
"I received a video from him in 2015 or 2016 saying like 'keep pushing and hopefully you can make it to F1 one day' and here I am," he told reporters.
"I think he met one of my mum's friends and she got him to make a video. 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."
Bearman, who will race with the number 87, will be on track at Silverstone on Friday for first free practice before handing the Ferrari-powered car back to Kevin Magnussen for the rest of the weekend.
It will be the Formula Two driver's third such outing with the team in 2024.
The youngster made a memorable F1 race debut aged 18 with Ferrari in Saudi Arabia last March as stand-in for Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who was sidelined by appendix surgery, and finished an impressive seventh.
YOUNGEST BRITON
That made him the third youngest racer in Formula One history, as well as the youngest Briton.
Next season he will race against Hamilton, McLaren's Lando Norris and Mercedes's George Russell as the sport's British contingent. Williams' Alex Albon is also British-born but races under the Thai flag.
"It's crazy to share this track with these guys who I've watched racing...it's something pretty special and it's a pinch-yourself-moment because these guys are in my eyes huge stars," said Bearman.
"It's quite amazing I will share the circuit with them."
Bearman has been part of Ferrari's academy since 2021, a path also taken in the past by Charles Leclerc and Michael Schumacher's son Mick, who debuted with Haas but lasted only two seasons.
Hamilton will be joining Ferrari at the age of 40 and Bearman recognised that could eventually lead to an opening at the Italian team.
Leclerc did one year at Sauber, powered by Ferrari, as a rookie before returning to Italy.
"It is every boy’s dream to race for Ferrari," said Bearman. "It is not really in my hands but all I can do is perform at my best. I am focused on Haas and I am really excited to get started.
"It is hard not to think that, but I am not thinking about it," he said of possibly one day replacing Hamilton at Maranello.
The teenager won the 2021 Italian F4 and ADAC F4 championship and moved up to Formula Three in 2022 before his F2 debut in 2023, where he finished sixth overall with four wins.
Last weekend in Austria he took his first victory of the season in an F2 sprint race.
Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu said Bearman had become "an incredibly mature driver" and the world had seen that in Jeddah.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Clare Fallon and Ed Osmond)
