Oliver Bearman is a British Formula 1 driver, born 8 May 2005 in Havering, London, and raised in Chelmsford, Essex. He races full-time for the Haas F1 Team and is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, widely viewed as a leading candidate for a future works seat at Maranello. ¹²

Bearman attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford before leaving at sixteen to pursue racing. His father David founded the insurance firm Aventum Group, and his younger brother Thomas also races. ¹

“Bearman attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford before leaving at sixteen to pursue racing.”

Karting and the Ferrari Academy

Bearman built a strong karting record in the second half of the 2010s, winning the Kartmasters British Grand Prix in 2017 and a clutch of IAME international titles in 2019 and 2020. That form earned him entry to the Ferrari Driver Academy in November 2021, the relationship that has shaped his entire single-seater career. ¹

Junior formulae

In 2021 Bearman won both the Italian F4 and ADAC F4 championships with Van Amersfoort Racing — eleven wins in the Italian series and six in the German — becoming the first driver to take two Formula 4 titles in a single year. He finished third in his rookie 2022 FIA Formula 3 season with Prema, including a sprint win at Spa-Francorchamps. Stepping up to FIA Formula 2 in 2023, he announced himself in Azerbaijan with a sprint-and-feature double — only the ninth driver in F2 history to do so, and the fourth as a rookie — and added a dominant feature win from pole in Barcelona and another at Monza. Four wins, five podiums and two poles left him sixth in his rookie F2 season. He took three sprint wins in a more disrupted 2024 before his F1 chance arrived. ¹

Formula 1 breakthrough

Bearman's F1 debut became one of the stories of 2024. Called up at the last minute as Ferrari's reserve, he replaced an appendicitis-stricken Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, qualified eleventh and finished seventh, becoming the youngest driver ever to race for Ferrari and earning Driver of the Day. He then deputised twice for Haas in place of the unavailable Kevin Magnussen — at Azerbaijan, where Magnussen served a one-race ban for accumulating twelve penalty points, and at the São Paulo Grand Prix, where Magnussen withdrew through illness. Bearman scored points at both, making him the first driver to score in his first two races for two different teams. ¹²⁴

2025 season

Bearman joined Haas full-time for 2025 alongside Esteban Ocon on a multi-year deal signed in July 2024. He scored 41 points to finish 13th in the championship, with a career-best fourth place at the Mexico City Grand Prix — the joint-highest finish by a Haas driver since the team's 2016 debut — plus a sixth in Brazil and a run of consecutive points finishes that set a team record. He out-qualified the experienced Ocon 13–11 and outscored him 41–38, though the season also brought a string of penalties as he learned the limits at F1 level. Komatsu later described his rate of improvement once the early rookie errors were cleared as "amazing." ¹²⁴

2026 season and current form

Bearman has carried that momentum into 2026, becoming the clear focal point of Haas's competitive start. He took seventh in Australia for six points and recovered to fifth at the Chinese Grand Prix, and after the opening rounds had scored well into double figures — effectively lifting Haas as high as fourth in the constructors' standings and outscoring the entire Red Bull team. He held a clean qualifying advantage over Ocon across the early races. ³⁴

Driving style and outlook

Still only in his second full season, Bearman has impressed with composure beyond his years and a knack for delivering on big occasions. Komatsu has been emphatic about his potential, saying "I haven't seen the limit yet — he's got huge, huge potential," and praising a quality he spotted early: "He listens, even if he doesn't agree, at least he listens." His rate of improvement through late 2025 was, in Komatsu's words, "amazing." ⁴

Ferrari future

Bearman's Academy ties keep him persistently linked to a Ferrari race seat, with his form positioning him as a plausible candidate to partner Charles Leclerc should Lewis Hamilton's stay end. Bearman has publicly played down imminent speculation, stressing his focus on Haas while acknowledging his "strong connection" to Ferrari. ³

Bottom line

Bearman is one of F1's most promising young talents — a Ferrari-backed driver who announced himself with a remarkable debut, established himself as Haas's leading scorer in 2025, and turned 2026 into a personal showcase. With Maranello watching closely, he looks like a driver building a case for a top seat rather than merely holding one. ¹³⁴