Newly signed Haas driver Oliver Bearman has explained his choice of Formula 1 race number, after also revealing the story of a video message Lewis Hamilton sent him as a child.
Bearman’s contract with Haas for 2025 was announced on Thursday ahead of the British Grand Prix and will see him step up to a full-time F1 seat after a one-off appearance in Saudi Arabia for Ferrari.
Exclusive column by Oliver Bearman: On the threshold of the F1 dream
One of the key decisions a new F1 driver must make is choosing a permanent racing number; Bearman temporarily wore the number 38 when he replaced Sainz in Jeddah.
For next year, Bearman will wear #87, a number he has raced under throughout his career and which has special meaning for his family.
“I will use 87, that is confirmed,” he explained. “I was not able to choose my number in Jeddah. And, first of all, even if I had, that would be the last thing on my mind!
“This (#87) is the number I ran with from the beginning and it’s the number my dad ran with, because I was born on May 8th and my brother on August 7th.
“Therefore, 87 is the chosen number and it will remain that way.”
Oliver Bearman, Ferrari SF-24
Photo credit: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
While Bearman had been considered to drive for Haas for a while, he said he only received final approval after last weekend’s Austrian GP.
“Honestly, until it was finally confirmed after the Red Bull Ring on Sunday, because in F1 until you put a pen to a piece of paper, it’s not really official,” he said.
“I knew that was what we were looking for and that we had been achieving it for a long time. But it’s never too early to celebrate, because F1 is a very fast-moving world and you’re only as good as your last race.
“Of course, I was relieved when it finally came true and I shared that moment with my manager, who was with me throughout, and it was a very emotional moment.”
Bearman also said reflections on his journey to F1 prompted him to re-watch a video Hamilton sent him nearly a decade ago.
Asked about racing Hamilton next year, Bearman said: “It’s crazy. And I was actually looking back and I got a video of him in 2015 or 2016, saying ‘keep trying, hopefully you can get to F1 one day’. And here I am.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, Oliver Bearman, Scuderia Ferrari
Photograph by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
“It’s crazy to share the track with these guys that I watch racing. Even Fernando (Alonso), it’s something very special and it’s a pinch-me moment, because these guys are, in my eyes, big stars and someone I look up to. And it’s pretty incredible that I’m going to share the track with them.”
Bearman said the Hamilton video came about through a family friend.
“I think he (Hamilton) met a friend of my mom’s or something, and she asked him to make a video. It was the most amazing day of my life. And yesterday I remembered that, I watched the video again and it was a fun moment.”