Oliver Bearman began 2024 as a highly rated Ferrari junior driver, but will begin 2025 as one of the most promising rookie stars on the F1 grid.
Following a dazzling junior career and a eye-catching debut campaign in F2 in 2023, the Briton was named as the Scuderia’s official F1 reserve driver for 2024 and was almost immediately called into action: replacing the sidelined Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The 18 year old finished a brilliant seventh and became the youngest ever driver to both race and score points for the world championship’s most successful constructor — a feat that quickly put Bearman on the fast track to a full-time F1 seat.
He’ll race for Haas in 2025, alongside Esteban Ocon, with his star only expected to continue rising.
Read on for further details of Bearman’s motor sport journey so far.
Early years
Born in Essex in 2005, Ollie Bearman first took to a go-kart aged eight.
He made quick progress: graduating from his local karting club before winning the 2017 Kartmasters British Grand Prix, as well as a tranche of other top-level karting championships.
In 2020, he made his first moves into single-seaters, racing in the Germany-based ADAC F4 series, where he scored his first victory at Hockenheim. He returned and improved the following year, claiming six race victories and ultimately the title. He also ran in the Italian F4 series in the same year, where his dominant, title-winning form continued to the tune of 11 race victories and 15 podium finishes.
By now Bearman was on Ferrari’s radar and the young Briton was signed to the teams junior academy at the end of 2021.
He entered into the FIA Formula 3 championship for 2022 with Prema and shrugged off the pressure of competing under the Scuderia umbrella: finishing third in the championship and ultimatley earning promotion into F2.
Formula 2
The 2023 F2 grid was packed with talent and experience — making it difficult for any one driver to stand out from the rest. But, at 17 and in his rookie year, Bearman put the grid on notice.
After a low-key start, he arrived with a bang in Azerbaijan: taking pole position — with a bent steering arm — before securing victory in the sprint and feature race.
Further victories followed at Barcelona and Monza, and Bearman ultimately finished sixth in the drivers’ standings — but was tipped to be a title contender in 2024.
Unfortunately for the Briton, his Prema squad struggled for performance — leaving Bearman to spend the majority of his season battling in the midfield. But the Briton still produced memorable highlights, including a pole position in Saudi Arabia and sprint race wins at the Red Bull Ring, Monza and Losail.
F1 promotion
Bearman was announced as one of Haas’ confirmed drivers for the 2025 season in early July. He’ll race alongside fellow newcomer Esteban Ocon as well as five other rookies — all of whom will be hoping to emulate Bearman’s early success and already sterling reputation.
“It’s an exciting thing to be able to give a young driver as talented as Oliver Bearman his first full-time seat in Formula 1,” said Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal of MoneyGram Haas F1 team. “He’s developed into an incredibly mature driver under the guidance of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy and the world saw that for themselves when he was called in at the last minute to compete at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“Oliver proved he was more than ready for the task, and we’ve seen that for ourselves running him in the Haas cars in our FP1 sessions over the past two seasons. We’re looking forward to further developing him as a driver and reaping the benefits of his talent – both inside and outside of the car. Oliver’s a great guy and a very welcome addition to the team when he joins us for the FP1 weekends. Now we know that relationship is going to be longer-term, it’s a positive thing for all concerned.”
