Haas driver Oliver Bearman looks back on his drive in the 1985 Senna Lotus—the test at Silverstone even moved the young Briton to tears
Haas Formula 1 driver Oliver Bearman has revealed that he was moved to tears after driving Ayrton Senna’s 1985 championship-winning car, the Lotus 97T, at Silverstone. The Haas driver spoke about his deeply emotional experience behind the wheel of Senna’s Lotus and admitted how close he was to tears at that moment.
During an appearance on the Formula 1 podcast “Beyond The Grid,” Bearman described his unforgettable drive in Senna’s iconic Lotus 97T at Silverstone. The 21-year-old Brit drove the very same chassis in which the three-time world champion celebrated his first Grand Prix victory in 1985—an experience he describes as “one of the best days of my life.”
Although he was born a decade after Senna’s tragic death, Bearman reveals how deeply this opportunity moved him—especially because he shared the paddock with his father and girlfriend, along with Senna’s mechanic from back then, who was looking after the car that day, and former race car driver Karun Chandhok.
Overwhelmed by Emotion
“I think it was a mix of different things. The most important thing was probably that it was the exact chassis Ayrton used to win his very first race,” Bearman explains. “As for Ayrton Senna: Of course, I never saw him drive in person. But he’s someone everyone considered the absolute best, and it was such a tragic day back in 1994.”
“Driving his very first car, while his mechanic tended to the car—his engineer was also there at Silverstone that day—was simply an extremely emotional moment for me. Sharing that with my father and my girlfriend, who have been with me through these big steps, and knowing the story of Ayrton, his fantastic career, and his tragic end. That was a very moving moment for me.“
”I knew I would get very emotional because sometimes I just can’t control those feelings in moments like that. As soon as my manager told me a month beforehand what I would be doing, I knew it was going to be a truly moving day.”
This is how he enjoyed the laps
“Driving the car was truly one of the best days of my life, and those emotions really hit me hard afterward,” said the race car driver.
The Haas driver had been given strict instructions to complete only three laps to preserve the engine, but he managed to squeeze out an extra lap.
“They said, ‘Okay, when you see the camera car’—because there was a camera car on the track—‘just pull in behind it at the exit of Maggotts and Becketts and follow it back to the pits,’” he explains.
Scoring an extra lap
“But I remember thinking, ‘Oh, I can’t stop yet. I’ve only just gotten started!’ So I added another lap.”
“I zoomed right past the camera car at full throttle. No one was watching at the pit wall anymore because everyone expected me to pull into the pits. And I flew past for another lap—that was a real lap of honor.“
”I really enjoyed it. And I remember when I came in: some smoke was rising from the brakes because I really wanted to go all out on that last lap. It was a ton of fun.”
