Oliver Bearman can only imagine what Lewis Hamilton experienced on his first day at Ferrari - even though it was a situation he had previously savoured, albeit in far different circumstances. Hamilton's first day at Maranello in January was one of the stand-out moments of the closed season, in particular, delivering an iconic photograph which has become the most-liked F1 Instagram post of all time. The seven-time F1 champion was dressed in a black suit and a long black overcoat and stood in front of legendary founder Enzo Ferrari's house. Alongside Hamilton was his favourite supercar, the F40. It is known Hamilton spent that first day shaking hundreds of hands by way of introduction to the men and women behind the scenes who will hopefully, from their perspective, hand him a car that will help him become a record eight-time title winner. For Ferrari Academy product Bearman, who this year embarks on his debut F1 campaign with Haas, seeing what Hamilton went through that day and his own experiences on his first day with Ferrari could not be more polar opposite experiences. "I spent a lot of time there," said Bearman, speaking to RacingNews365 . "I haven't shaken everyone's hand, but I'm not racing for them in F1. "But it is a big, big factory, quite a vast, incredible factory. So I can imagine he had a pretty long day when that day came. "It must have been a very special feeling. I remember my first day walking into Ferrari, and I can't imagine what it would have been like walking into Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton, the F1 driver. It must have been incredible." As to that day for Bearman, in particular, he recalled: "My first day, I was just a 15-year-old F4 driver. It was crazy to step into my first F1 factory. I was quite impressed by the sheer scale of the operation and the number of faces. "Of course, no one knew who I was. I was just there as a visitor, but it was a very special feeling to see Ferrari, a team with an illustrious history. It was incredible."
Bearman reveals what gets him out of bed in the morning
Bearman's natural ambition is to be an F1 champion, a journey he embarked on last season when he deputised in three grands prix. Initially, it was for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who required an appendectomy in Saudi Arabia, and then at Haas for Kevin Magnussen in the Azerbaijan and São Paolo Grands Prix after the Dane was banned for the former and unwell for the latter. Bearman is under no illusion that Hamilton's feats are beyond his reach, recognising that what the 40 year-old has done "is quite incredible". But he is not a driver without ambition, adding: "No one has emulated Lewis, so I don't expect to manage to do that, because no one has managed to do that. "But my dream is to become a world champion, and that's what I live for. That's what gets me out of bed every morning." At least Hamilton has been available at times for his fellow Briton, particularly after they lined up on the grid together on three occasions last year. "Whenever I see him he's always super nice and super kind," said Bearman. "It's nice to share experiences. And of course, he has a lot of experience. But he's just a really nice guy. So I enjoy speaking to him." Bearman concedes there has 'not been a crazy amount' of advice from Hamilton, other than "just go for it". At least he appreciates one of F1's icons, someone he labels as a hero, alongside Jenson Button and his own father, has his back. "He's just very supportive of all the rookies," he said. "That's a really nice thing to have, and a very welcoming feeling."
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