Oliver Bearman told the key difference between his start in F1 and Lewis Hamilton’s

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Liam Lawson has outlined the one area where Oliver Bearman had an advantage over Lewis Hamilton on their respective F1 debuts.

Bearman notched his first race start in Saudi Arabia last weekend as he deputised for the ill Carlos Sainz.

And during an appearance on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Visa Cash App RB reserve driver Lawson compared him to a young Hamilton.

Hamilton was 22 when he embarked on his first season in F1 with McLaren in 2007, while Bearman stood in for Sainz at the age of 18.

The Ferrari junior had the opportunity to drive for Haas in FP1 sessions in Mexico and Abu Dhabi last year.

Bearman actually finished ahead of Hamilton on the road in Jeddah, holding off the seven-time world champion and fellow Briton Lando Norris in the closing stages.

Liam Lawson on Oliver Bearman edge over Lewis Hamilton

Lawson, who drove in five races for AlphaTauri last season when Daniel Ricciardo suffered an injury, says Bearman has enjoyed the benefit of greater ‘access’ relative to Hamilton.

The Mercedes driver admitted in Saudi Arabia that he wasn’t ‘ready’ to tackle F1 when he was 18.

He said: “I would say the difference is our development, the access we have now, compared to what they used to have.

“We’re doing a lot of this preparation from a very young age, we’re in the simulator and we’re doing a lot of this prep stuff.

“Ollie’s been in a Formula 1 car obviously before as well, and we have the opportunity to do that with free practice sessions and things.”

Bearman could succeed Hamilton at Ferrari

Any notion of Bearman jumping up straight from F2 to a front-running F1 seat in the manner of Hamilton has already been removed.

That’s because Ferrari have signed the 39-year-old for the 2025 season to partner Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton has signed a multi-year deal with the Prancing Horse, though it’s unclear how much longer he wants to continue racing.

He’s the second-oldest driver on the current F1 grid behind 42-year-old Fernando Alonso.

Bearman may have the opportunity to join the Ferrari-affiliated Haas team and then make the jump to the Scuderia when Hamilton does decide to call it a day.