Ollie Bearman left Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc stunned after revealing that a large spider beside his head prompted him to abandon his hotel during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend in Malaysia. The Haas driver recounted the unexpected 2am encounter during a fan event, explaining that the experience was enough for him to immediately contact his travel team and arrange somewhere else to stay.
Bearman may be accustomed to the extreme speeds and pressures of Formula 1, but the young British driver, who has also been regarded as a possible future Ferrari option, admitted that spiders are a very different matter. Standing alongside Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon and Ferrari drivers Hamilton and Leclerc, he explained how his night in Malaysia had taken an alarming turn.
Ollie Bearman explains why he abandoned his Malaysia hotel
Bearman recalled being woken at around 2am by a spider positioned next to his head. He told the other drivers that he immediately contacted his travel team and made it clear that he wanted to move because he was not prepared to remain in the room.
When pressed for more details, the Haas driver explained that he had actually heard the spider moving towards him before opening his eyes and discovering it beside him. His description immediately surprised Charles Leclerc, whose reaction made clear just how uncomfortable he found the thought of the encounter.
The story became even more dramatic when Bearman demonstrated the spider’s approximate size with his hand, indicating that it was roughly as large as his palm. He explained that he knocked it away before switching on a light, only to discover that he could no longer find it.
That disappearance created another problem. Bearman admitted that after moving to his new hotel, he had still not opened his suitcase because he was worried that the spider might somehow have ended up inside his luggage.
Bearman’s Ferrari connections have made his development particularly interesting to followers of the Maranello team. The British driver has previously discussed his Ferrari debut and his ambition to race in red again, although his immediate concern in Malaysia was considerably less related to Formula 1.
Lewis Hamilton surprised after almost 20 years of Malaysia visits
Lewis Hamilton was equally taken aback by Bearman’s account. Despite having raced and travelled to Malaysia for almost two decades, the seven-time world champion admitted that he had not realised spiders of that size could be found there.
Hamilton joked that, in Bearman’s situation, he would have preferred to sleep in his car. The revelation appeared to change the Briton’s perception of the country, as he reflected on the fact that he had been visiting Malaysia for around 20 years without previously being aware of such spiders.
The reaction offered a lighter moment during the race weekend for Hamilton, whose latest Ferrari news and developments can be followed in the Lewis Hamilton section. Charles Leclerc’s reaction was similarly memorable, with the Monegasque clearly surprised by the size Bearman described; the latest updates on him are available in the Charles Leclerc section.
What type of spider did Ollie Bearman encounter?
The spider Bearman encountered may have been a huntsman, a type that can be found in houses and hotels around Malaysia. Huntsman spiders use venom to subdue small prey but are generally considered harmless to humans.
Unlike spiders that rely on webs to catch their prey, huntsman spiders are fast-moving hunters that can travel rapidly across trees, walls and ceilings. For the Ferrari junior, however, simply losing sight of the spider after finding it beside his head was enough to bring his stay at that hotel to an immediate end.
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