MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Oliver Bearman came agonisingly close to delivering Haas their first Formula One podium after soaking up the pressure to finish fourth in Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix.
The 20-year-old found himself in third place after an action-packed start and went toe-to-toe with seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Verstappen, who is vying for a fifth straight drivers' title, dashed his podium dreams by taking third behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and race winner Lando Norris of McLaren, but Bearman was still proud of his achievement.
"Hamilton and Max had a bit of a coming together at the start and I benefited from that," Bearman told reporters.
"I had him in my mirrors for a long time. So it was probably the most pressure I've ever had in a race scenario."
The Ferrari Academy graduate, who joined Haas this season, said the team had opted to defend fourth place rather than risk it all for third.
"I got the call to box very late and I was super confused, but I'm not going to, you know, go against the team order," he said.
"It seems like we would have been taking a big risk to stay out and try and finish third. And that potentially could have cost us more than fourth; we could have been further back, so I think we did the right job."
Despite missing out on the podium, Bearman's performance has boosted both his confidence and Haas's position in the constructors' championship, with the team moving up to eighth place with four races remaining.
Teammate Esteban Ocon finished ninth.
"Big step of confidence heading into Brazil now. So I was looking for Haas's first podium. That was my goal," said Bearman.
"But fourth is great as well. And two cars in the points. That's a great result for us."
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
