Formula 1 will have four British drivers on the grid in 2025 with Oliver Bearman now a full-time pilot with Haas, joining Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris.
Bearman helped to break Great Britain’s 56-year wait for four British drivers to take points in a Formula 1 race at last term’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The 19-year-old joined Hamilton et al in the top 10 on his debut in Jeddah with a cameo drive for Ferrari in place of Carlos Sainz.
The Havering-born, Chelmsford-raised gem would get two further cameos in 2024 in place of Kevin Magnussen for Haas in Baku and in Sao Paulo. Now, Bearman is a full-time F1 driver for Haas to share the grid with Ferrari’s Hamilton, Russell of Mercedes and McLaren’s Norris.
Hamilton also has a new home in 2025 after leaving Mercedes for Ferrari, taking up the seat beside Charles Leclerc that Sainz had since 2021. The 40-year-old has seemed rejuvenated in red after three challenging years in silver as Hamilton bids to lift an eighth F1 drivers’ title.
Oliver Bearman spots Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari steering wheel changes at F1 Testing
Hamilton wasted no time to get settled into his new life at Ferrari since moving to Maranello back in January. And Bearman has spotted one change his compatriot has requested, having noticed at F1 Testing that Hamilton got Ferrari to change the buttons on his steering wheel.
READ MORE: Seven best drives of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes career before Ferrari move
Bearman knows all about Ferrari’s steering wheel from his time as a reserve driver for them, plus Haas, in 2024. He also joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2021, so Bearman could tell Hamilton asked the Scuderia to change his buttons as their neutral is Mercedes’ DRS switch.
“On his Mercedes steering wheel, the DRS button, on Ferrari’s it’s neutral,” Bearman said at F1 Testing, via BBC Sport. “So, I think he moved a few things around to save things.
“But when changing [teams] – 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.”
Lewis Hamilton asked Ferrari to change his steering wheel on his first day at Maranello
Hamilton asked Ferrari to change his steering wheel on the seven-time champion’s very first day at Maranello. The Briton sought to ask the Scuderia to tweak their button layout due to the familiarities he enjoyed across 12 seasons with Mercedes, who Hamilton joined in 2013.
Given he will need to instinctively make changes to key settings during every Grand Prix, it is natural to want Ferrari to have a more similar button layout to the steering wheel he used at Mercedes. Also, Hamilton changed Ferrari’s clutch to one paddle like he had with Mercedes.
Leave feedback about this