Oliver Bearman on his ultimate F1 goal: “I need to prove I am capable”

Long before Oliver Bearman stood on a Formula 1 grid, he had to convince Ferrari to believe in him.

Not the other way around. When the young Briton first sat down with the people at Maranello, the Italian outfit was looking for karting talent, not Formula 4 drivers. Bearman walked in knowing that and had to make his case anyway.

“I would like to say that I went in there with loads of confidence, but I was very nervous during that meeting,” he admitted.

What followed settled the matter faster than any conversation could.

“We went on track and showed them what we were capable of first hand. It is like football scouting. They see exactly what you are capable of.”

Ferrari signed him. And they have been investing in him ever since.

That investment took on a remarkable dimension in 2024 when Carlos Sainz fell ill before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Ferrari turned to an 18-year-old who had not yet started a Formula 1 race. Bearman not only started, he finished seventh.

“They had other reserve drivers who had more experience, but they took the shot on the 18-year-old, and luckily, it worked out,” he said. “They have obviously given me a huge amount of trust and believed in me from the very beginning.”

The Seat He Is Working Towards

That trust is now the foundation of an ambition Bearman no longer keeps quiet. A race seat at Ferrari is his stated target, and he is clear-eyed about what it requires.

“I hope to one day put on the Ferrari suit and race for them, but I understand that it is a long journey. I need to prove that I am capable of racing for Ferrari. The pressure is obviously much higher in a top team like that, so continuing to work with Haas is really fun and I am learning so much as well,” he said.

His time at Haas is not seen as a detour. It is part of a deliberate plan that Ferrari has mapped out for him, taking him through Formula 3, Formula 1 stand-in duties and now a full race seat in the midfield where he can develop away from the spotlight of Maranello’s expectations.

The progression has been steady. In his first full season Bearman outscored the experienced Esteban Ocon and delivered a career-best fourth place in Mexico.

In the 2026 season he has continued that upward trend, sitting fifth in the drivers’ championship after the opening three rounds and consistently finishing ahead of drivers in faster machinery.

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has made no effort to hide his view on what that could eventually mean.

“If we have done a great job with Ollie and Ollie performs so well that Ferrari wants to take him the following year, we have to be happy that we have done our job,” Komatsu said.

The path to Ferrari’s cockpit is not straightforward. Lewis Hamilton holds a contract believed to run until at least the end of 2027, and Charles Leclerc is tied to the team until 2029. Hamilton’s resurgence in 2026, including his first Ferrari podium at the Chinese Grand Prix, has further delayed any realistic opening.

But Bearman is not looking for shortcuts. He understands that readiness matters more than timing, and that being in the right place when an opportunity arises only counts if he has already done the work to deserve it.

“They took me into their academy, invested in me from F3 all the way to Formula 1 and gave me this seat with Haas,” he said.

“That is of course my target, especially given the trust that they have given me.”