Who would have guessed F1 stars fear tiny eight‑leggers? Even elite pilots who roar at 200 mph share simple fears—like Ollie Bearman’s dread of spiders.
At a Bahrain Grand Prix fan meet in Malaysia, the young Haas driver recounted the night a spider perched beside his pillow, to Hamilton’s amazement.
Standing with teammate Esteban Ocon and Ferrari stars Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, Bearman delivered the chilling tale.
“I was jolted awake at 2 a.m. to a spider next to my head,” he told colleagues, gasping. “I texted my travel crew, ‘I’m moving, I won’t stay here.’”
Reporters pressed him for more details.
“I heard it shifting, opened my eyes and it was right there,” he recalled.
“No way!” Leclerc exclaimed, jaw dropping.
“It was palm‑sized,” Bearman held up his hand. “I swatted it, lit a torch, but it vanished. I haven’t even opened my suitcase in the new hotel, fearing it’s inside.”
Hamilton, a two‑decade veteran of Malaysian races, was still taken aback by the spider’s size.
“I’d have slept in the car!” he laughed. “I never realized Malaysia harbored such big spiders.”
“That changes everything. After 20 years here, I had no clue,” he added.
The creature was likely a huntsman spider, common in local homes and hotels. Harmless to humans yet venomous to insects, it darts instead of weaving. For my money, its presence adds an unexpected twist to the pit lane atmosphere.
Photos from the F1 Bahrain GP in Malaysia – Sunday
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– The Team