Oliver Bearman has no doubt who is the best Formula 1 driver: "Unforgiving"

Taking to the microphones of the High Performance Podcast Oliver Bearman returned to talk about his first real duel on the track with the aces of the four-wheelers, including, of course, a Max Verstappen who wants to return to rout the competition in 2026. The British driver, who had his first full season in Formula 1 with Haas in 2025, was able to battle with the best during the Mexican Grand Prix thanks to his ninth place on the grid. It was a moment he remembers with great emotion, especially when he saw Red Bull’s Dutchman appear in the mirrors: “I got chills,” admitted the 20-year-old, who was also a reserve driver for Ferrari.

Bearman is now preparing to start his second year in Formula 1. In 2025 his best result was a fourth place in Mexico itself. On the track at the Autodromo named after the Rodríguez brothers, he had the opportunity to go wheel-to-wheel with champions such as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
“The first thought was: it’s the first time I’m fighting with Lewis, with Max, even with George Russell and Piastri. With all of them,” he explained.

“Some of them I had been watching them race since I was a kid. Max, for example, has been in every Formula 1 race I can remember. In 2016 I was only 11 years old, so he was already there, as was Lewis. And now I was running side by side with them. Max was behind me. I got chills as I was driving knowing he was there. I was thinking, how incredible is this? This is crazy. This is the best Formula 1 driver ever and he’s chasing me. He was putting tremendous pressure on me, and inside I was saying: this is what I live for, this is my life.”

In the end Verstappen was able to overtake him, eventually finishing on the podium and earning valuable points in the title fight against the two McLaren drivers. For Bearman, however, it was no surprise that he could not keep up with him. “You know how aggressive he is, you know that if you leave him even an inch of space he will exploit it,” added the young Briton. “He doesn’t forgive you even the smallest mistake. He’s Max, he’s the best. And you know it.”