Lewis Hamilton believes that rookies Franco Colapinto and Ollie Bearman have “really bright futures” ahead of them following his battles with both youngsters during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the seven-time world champion explaining that he is keen to provide a “positive” welcome to newcomers in the sport.
After making his way forward in the race following a pit lane start, Hamilton spent much of the latter stages fighting with Colapinto and Bearman before crossing the line in P9, putting him in-between the Williams in P8 and the Haas behind in P10.
Hamilton went on to praise both drivers in an Instagram post, writing: “It was a great fight, and it’s amazing to see so much new talent coming in.”
The post sparked a particularly effusive response from Colapinto, who commented: “Lewis to shake hands with you after a race was one of the most special moments I’ve had in my life. Really appreciate how much respect you showed. Really looking forward to be meeting you back on track soon!”
When speaking to the media ahead of the next race weekend in Singapore, it was put to Hamilton that Colapinto seemed very humbled by his words, leading to the Mercedes man giving an insight into why he wants to be a good example to young drivers arriving into F1.
“It was really lovely to see, and again for me, I remember so clearly when I first went to a Grand Prix when I was 11 in 1996 to the Belgian Grand Prix and meeting Formula 1 drivers,” Hamilton explained.
“When I got to Formula 1, I don’t remember ever having a warm welcome from anyone except from Niki [Lauda], but he’s an ex-driver. Actually it wasn’t even Niki at the time! I just remember what it was like being that young and having that experience and how tough it is.
“Now I’m seeing these two do such an amazing job. I’ve got both of them ahead of me at one point driving so well, not making mistakes, really talented but also [they] have really bright futures in front of them.
“In my position, I wanted to be different to those who were to me when I was younger. I want to make sure I’m being positive to them and uplifting rather than talking negatively about them, which a lot of people do, just talk negatively about young people coming through for no reason.”
The race in Baku marked Colapinto’s second in Formula 1 since being drafted in to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams for the final nine rounds of the campaign.
Bearman, meanwhile, was making his second substitute appearance of the year, this time for Haas to cover for Kevin Magnussen whilst the Dane served a race ban.
The young Briton will return to the grid full-time with Haas in 2025, having impressed when he stood in for an unwell Carlos Sainz at Ferrari during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix back in March.
