Lewis Hamilton was "pulling me out of the car," says Oliver Bearman

Oliver Bearman, who finished the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP in P7 after replacing Carlos Sainz at Ferrari, revealed that Lewis Hamilton aided him in getting out of the car after the "physical" race.

As Sainz had to be treated for appendicitis midway through the Grand Prix weekend, F2 pole-sitter (on the same track) and Ferrari's reserve driver Bearman was called to replace the Spaniard. Despite practicing for only one session on the track, the 18-year-old qualified at an impressive P11, missing Q3 by 0.036 seconds. He then finished the race at an impressive P7.

Multiple drivers appreciated Oliver Bearman for his performance. As he revealed further to the media, including Sportskeeda, he had trouble getting out of the car at the end of the race. Lewis Hamilton, however, came to his aid.

"I grew up watching these guys fighting and it was nice to share the track with them. It was a pleasure to have their recognition. [Lewis] was basically pulling me out of the car because I was struggling," Bearman said.

"It was really physical. In a race like this – one of the lowest-degradation tracks of the season and one of the highest lateral G – you are pretty much doing 50 qualifying laps," he added.

Lewis Hamilton had finished the race in P9. He was sharing a battle with Lando Norris in the final stages of the race for P8. At this time, Bearman was also under threat of being attacked by the latter on newer soft tires. However, that did not happen.

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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell's issues with W15 likely to continue as team boss reveals issue with the car

In his final season with the team, Lewis Hamilton is expecting it to finish in a better place before moving to Ferrari in 2025. For the past two seasons, Mercedes have been struggling to win. While they have registered only a single victory since 2022, Hamilton has not won a single GP in two years.

Their 2024 F1 challenger, the W15, was expected to be much more competitive, but as it has turned out in the first two rounds of the season, it still lacks pace. Team principal Toto Wolff, while speaking to the media including Sportskeeda, revealed the issues with the car:

"There is something which we don't understand," Wolff said. "We are quick everywhere else pretty much."

"We know that we have a smaller rear wing, we're compensating what we're losing through the corners. But it's just at high speed where we're losing all the lap time."

Lewis Hamilton also noted McLaren's consistent fast pace on certain parts of the tracks during the Grand Prix. Mercedes dropped a place and currently stands fourth in the championship standings.