Oliver Bearman has descriptively declared that he was "shitting himself" in going wheel-to-wheel with Max Verstappen during the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Starting from ninth on the grid at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Bearman found himself in unfamiliar territory in his rookie year with Haas as more illustrious names ahead of him duked it out over the opening laps.
Bearman was in the right place at the right time, though, to take advantage of one particular battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
It resulted in the 20-year-old British driver locking horns with Verstappen, in particular, and taking the fight to Red Bull's four-time F1 champion.
"I had a good start," said Bearman, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365. "I slotted myself between the two Mercs, and in those laps, I had good pace. I was able to stay in DRS.
"George lost the DRS of the car ahead, and then Hamilton and Max had a bit of a coming together, and I benefited from that too.
"Honestly, I was shitting myself going side by side with Max, but it's really cool to go wheel to wheel with these people that I've been watching since I started watching F1.
"I had him in my mirrors for a long time. It was probably the most pressure I've ever had in a race scenario."
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Haas 'made the right choice'
For a considerable period, Bearman had Haas' first podium in its 10-season history in its sights. But the team was forced to react when Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri in his McLaren pitted for a second time, sparking a chain reaction.
It meant Bearman emerged behind the leading trio of McLaren's Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari and Verstappen.
With considerable pace in the car, Bearman sparked wild celebrations inside Haas when he secured fourth place, matching the team's best result since the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix courtesy of Romain Grosjean.
"From what I understood, I was taking the medium tyre to the end until I got called to box," said Bearman. "I need to look back at exactly what happened.
"But I think in our position, it would have been a bit risky trying to stay out and go for the podium and potentially finish sixth or seventh. We made the right choice by consolidating, even if it stopped us from having the chance of a podium.
"But we finished fourth. Still, it's not bad."
With team-mate Esteban Ocon ninth, the combined 14 points elevated Haas into eighth position in the constructors' championship, just 10 points behind sixth-placed Racing Bulls.
"Every single point in the constructors' is super valuable, and that can't be denied," said Bearman.
"So to jump back into eighth is great, and we keep our eyes forward for the next four races."
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