How one race shaped Bearman’s F1 future – and marked out his Ferrari dream

Oliver Bearman’s path to Formula 1 has been built on raw speed, early maturity, and an urgent need to make every chance count – like he did with Ferrari – while keeping expectations in check.

There’s a story that says a lot about the 20-year-old. In April 2023, fresh from his breakout Formula 2 weekend in Baku – where he won both the sprint and feature races – Bearman turned 18. One of his sponsors invited him for a meeting.

“They made a bit of a fuss,” the Haas driver recalls in an interview with Autosport. “Then they pointed to a Ferrari Roma parked nearby. I looked at it, and when I turned back, they handed me the keys: ‘Happy birthday’.”

Bearman, stunned, immediately called his father David to share the news. “You won’t believe this!” he said. The reply came: “That’s amazing, but you know we’ll have to pay for insurance – and that won’t be cheap.”

At the Bearman household, real-world problems have never been far away. Bearman got his first used kart for Christmas in 2011 – the beginning of his racing story, but always with both feet on the ground. They competed in the UK because racing in Italy was too expensive. Missing school wasn’t an option. At one point, his father David faced a choice.

A club-level racer himself, David drove a Porsche Boxster numbered 87 – a nod to his sons’ birthdays: Oliver on 8 May, Thomas on 7 August. “That’s why you still see ‘87’ on the Haas today,” he explains. But when it became clear Oliver had real talent, the decision was simple: “I stopped racing. Every penny I had went into karting.”

“My dad used to race, and my grandfather before him,” Oliver says. “It was just club racing, for fun. They didn’t have the budget – or probably the talent to go much further. I remember watching my dad race his Porsche when I was five or six, and I absolutely loved it. The sound, the smells, the whole thing. That’s when I fell in love with racing.”

The family made sacrifices to keep the dream alive, knowing a second chance was unlikely.

“I remember when I moved up from karts to F4,” Bearman recalls. “My dad was clear – we couldn’t afford to do two, three, four seasons. It was just too expensive. We even had to scale back on testing.”

That need to deliver straight away – on zero mileage – became a strength. Bearman was fast from the start in F4, F3, and again in F2. But even with that reputation, no one could have predicted how little notice he’d get before his F1 debut in Saudi Arabia last year.

“It was literally a few hours’ notice,” Bearman says with a grin. “But it was the biggest opportunity of my life. Things weren’t going great in F2 at the time, and suddenly I had the chance to show what I could do in a Ferrari F1 car.

“I was lucky to get that race. I’d only done two days in an F1 car before, so I was cautious – I didn’t want to mess it up. That held me back a bit, but I think I still showed about 50% of what I’m capable of. And that was enough to get me here. Honestly, I don’t know where I’d be now if Jeddah hadn’t happened.”

Oliver Bearman, Ferrari SF-24

Foto di: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Four months later, he got the confirmation he’d dreamed of: “It was after the Austria weekend, just before Silverstone – I think Monday or Tuesday. I was flying back to England and got the news: I’d be a Haas race driver for 2025. A full season. That was a really special moment.”

Bearman had already been confirmed as a full-time Haas driver for 2025 when he was called up at short notice to race for the team in Baku and Interlagos, delivering solid performances on both occasions.

“In hindsight, I was a bit spoiled last year,” he admits. “I drove the Ferrari, scored points. Then I did the same with Haas in Baku. Even in Brazil I got into Q3 and fought in the top 10. I kind of took it for granted that I’d be in the points every time I got in the car.

“But this year’s been a wake-up call. The margins are so tight – we’re not in a position to fight for points every weekend. I’ve had to reset my expectations to avoid getting frustrated. There were races where I felt I drove well, weekends I was proud of my performance, but it’s hard to feel satisfied when you see your name in P12 or P15.”

Bearman says he’s working hard to stay down to earth: “I’ve tried not to let the results get me down, and to be honest with myself. If I’ve done a good job, I use that energy for the next race.

“Last year’s points came quite easily, and that shaped expectations a bit. This year we’re struggling more than we thought. Scoring consistently is tough, but I’m super motivated. Keeping the right mindset and staying positive is really important.”

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

That urgency to perform has always been part of Bearman’s DNA. But now, under the Ferrari umbrella, he can focus on delivering on track – not on survival. He still remembers the nerves of his first contact with the Scuderia.

“After I won the Italian F4 title, Ferrari’s driver academy invited me for a test in Fiorano,” he recalls. “I remember walking into Laurent Mekies’ office – he was the team’s sporting director at the time. I was 15, sitting across from someone I’d seen on TV. I knew I had to convince them I was worth the investment. I think my hands were shaking.”

Then came the track session.

“I remember perfectly the moment I drove out of the Fiorano garage. I’d watched Alonso, Schumacher, Vettel, Leclerc – they’d all driven that track. I was only in an F4 car, but it was something special.

“Two years later, I did my first F1 test. That’s a day I’ll never forget. Wearing that red suit… you can’t describe what that feels like. It made me proud – and incredibly motivated to wear it again.”

Bearman lived in Modena between 2023 and 2024, often commuting to Maranello for simulator work.

“Modena is beautiful. I still stop there when I’m in the area. Right now, I’m not thinking about Ferrari. I feel I’ve got what it takes to drive for the team one day, but it’s up to me to prove it.

Oliver Bearman, Reserve Driver, Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

“I’m sure Ferrari believes in me – they’ve supported me this far and gave me the chance I have now. That’s what gets me out of bed every morning. I want to race in red. I want to win in red. That’s my main motivation.”

He already owns a Ferrari, of course – the Roma.

“It’s true; it’s the most valuable thing I own. My first Ferrari, and it came in such a special way. It’s been in the garage ever since.

“The insurance? I pay for that now!”

Bearman’s father, David, now watches from a distance – and is finally able to support the younger brother, Thomas, now racing in F4.

“If Ollie had stayed in F2, I couldn’t have funded both,” David says. “But it all worked out.”

At Silverstone, Thomas raced in one of the support series, with both Oliver and David spotted on the stairs watching the start. Thomas’s path might be a little smoother than his brother’s, but the ability to deliver under pressure – to perform straight away – is something Oliver has mastered. And it might be one of the most valuable skills in modern motorsport.

Oliver and David Bearman

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images