During the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters, while watching the match between Berrettini and Zverev, Oliver Bearman, the Haas F1 driver, was also present and had the chance to chat with the Italian tennis player at the end of the match.
This afternoon, in Monte Carlo, the second round of the clay-court tennis tournament in the Principality took place, where the Italian Matteo Berrettini faced Alex Zverev, ranked number two in the world. The match ended with a crushing victory for the 28-year-old Italian, who triumphed after an epic rally of 48 shots and a total of two and a half hours of play.
Among the audience – in addition to Rebecca Donaldson, model and partner of Carlos Sainz, and Kelly Piquet, model and pregnant partner of Max Verstappen – was another special guest very familiar with the Formula 1 tracks, Oliver Bearman. The British driver exchanged a few friendly jokes with the Roman tennis player after the match. Taking advantage of a few days off before flying to Bahrain for the fourth round of the season, the Haas F1 Team driver enjoyed a match at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters.
For the young British driver, attending tennis matches is nothing new. In fact, Ollie was also present at the final of the ATP Finals in Turin last November, where photos were taken of him with Jannik Sinner.
After congratulating Berrettini on his victory, which will take him to the round of 16, Ollie Bearman chatted with the Roman tennis player, naturally mentioning his connection to Italy, mainly due to his time with the Ferrari Driver Academy. “I lived in Bologna for two years because Ferrari is based in Maranello; this helped me learn Italian. Now that I’m no longer working with Ferrari, though, I’ve lost a bit of confidence with the language, ” explained the number 87 Haas F1 Team driver.
Taking the British driver’s cue, Matteo then suggested to Ollie that they should hit the track together sometime to learn a few things. The Briton immediately accepted the Italian’s offer, proposing tennis lessons in return: “Yes, and then I’ll try to get on the court to return your serves,” joked the young 2005-born driver. Finally, the fateful question. “Do you play tennis?” Berrettini asked Bearman, who bitterly admitted that he actually plays padel more often, sparking the mock dismay of the Roman tennis player.
Photo: ATP Tour, Tennis TV, Oliver Bearman.
