Ollie Bearman admitted he kept a watchful eye on Lewis Hamilton, or more specifically, his Ferrari steering wheel, to see what he had adjusted.

It’s a normal process for drivers to ask for certain switches and dials to be placed where they would like them, as changing settings at speed becomes a part of their muscle memory, and the Ferrari junior admitted he’s “a bit of a nerd” when it comes to that area of the car.

Lewis Hamilton steering wheel examined by ‘bit of a nerd’ Ollie Bearman

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Every driver wants the car to be set up to their liking, with Bearman revealing in his case that he is using a single clutch on his gearbox over the double clutch system preferred by others on the grid, and the new Haas driver used his time in pre-season testing to not only run as many laps in his car as possible, but to take in what was happening around him.

Being a Ferrari junior, he has plenty of experience with how the Scuderia tend to set up, so he looked for a glimpse at how a seven-time World Champion wanted to have his steering wheel after joining the team.

“I’ve seen a few interesting things,” Bearman told media including PlanetF1.com in Bahrain.

“First of all, Lewis in the Ferrari, that was pretty cool. And seeing how much he’s changed on the steering wheel, for example, is something that caught my attention.”

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When asked if he had changed the placement of buttons and dials on the Ferrari wheel, Bearman added: “Yeah, because on his Mercedes steering wheel… the DRS button on Ferrari is neutral, so I think he moved a few things around.

“But even me, when I went to Haas, just moving things around compared to what you’re used to is important, and I can imagine after 10 years in the same car, you build up some habits.”

Asked if this came about because of still being ‘plugged in’ to Ferrari and what is happening there, the teenager admitted wanting to catch a glimpse of Hamilton’s setup was simply borne of his own interest in the subject, more than anything else.

“I was interested, just I knew he would change a few things on the steering wheel, like it happens every year – and that was more out of interest watching what changes he’s made,” he said.

“Just like myself, I’ve done some changes on the steering wheel at Haas. It’s just an interesting thing, and I’m a bit of a nerd on that side.”

He spoke of the importance of needing to be comfortable with such a key piece of equipment – with so many facets loaded into it and no longer just what is used to turn the car, Bearman admitted he is still getting used to what is underneath him at Haas.

“My main laps in F1 have been on the simulator at Ferrari, so I’m used to that steering wheel,” he said.

“There are a few differences with the Haas steering wheel, and it’s not quite second nature, yet. I still have to look down when I press buttons, but that comes with the experience and more laps, and that’s what testing is all about.”

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