(Motorsport-Total.com) – On the racetrack he seemed like a veteran, but away from the spotlights Oliver Bearman struggled with the pitfalls of the Formula 1 circus. After an impressive 2025 debut season at Haas, which he finished in 13th place in the World Championship and thus ahead of his experienced teammate Esteban Ocon (15th place), the Briton is now giving deep insights into his inner life. The biggest problem in his first year in the premier class? Loneliness.
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While highlights like fourth place at the Mexican Grand Prix dominated the headlines, the reality in the hotel room often looked different. “Yes, I struggled with loneliness in Formula 1,” the 20-year-old confesses in the High Performance Podcast. The jump from Formula 2 was not only sporting, but above all humanly enormous.
From overstimulation to total silence
“You are on the road for much longer and travel to places that are much further away,” Bearman explains the logistical and psychological burden. “In Japan or China, you encounter language barriers. It’s a strange feeling when you no longer hear your own language around you.”
The stark contrast of the race weekend hit the youngster particularly hard. “You experience this one extreme at the track: you are surrounded by hundreds of people, you don’t have a second for yourself. And then you come back to your hotel room – and there is simply no one there anymore.”
Being alone weighed heavily, especially after setbacks. “Especially after a hard race, that’s a challenge. You actually want to be anywhere but there. You want to be with your family or with someone you love.”
Although his father accompanied him to many races to provide continuity, he couldn’t be everywhere. “There were difficult events where you would have wished for someone you could describe your feelings to. But I guess that’s part of the game.”
Help from the coach: “I bottled up my emotions”
Bearman openly admits that at the beginning of 2025 he was in danger of falling into a hole. In his adopted home of Monaco, he lived alone with his girlfriend, far away from the rest of the family.
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“At first, I just bottled up my emotions. I came home and it was empty. I sat there and was actually just waiting to fly to the next race. My whole life revolved only around racing, there was no standstill.”
To cope with the contrasts – the extreme contrast between the hustle and bustle at the track and the yawning emptiness afterwards – the Briton sought professional help from a coach.
The perspective of ten-year-old “Ollie”
Working on his own mentality paid off. Bearman learned to take a step back and look at things from a distance.
“Perspective is important,” he emphasizes today. “Times can be hard, but at the end of the day: if I told my ten-year-old self what I’m doing today, that little boy would be damn happy.”
This gratitude has become one of the most important attributes for him to not only survive sportingly in the shark tank of Formula 1, but also not to lose his footing humanly.
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