Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman pinpoints key reason for securing F1 seat in 2025 with Haas. Oliver Bearman on securing his Haas F1 2025 seat.

Oliver Bearman: Haas’ bet
He is not even 20 years old and already has a secured future in Formula 1. In 2025, Ferrari Driver Academy member Oliver Bearman will drive for Haas and compete against some of the best drivers in the world, including stars old enough to be his father, like Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Several people have questioned the US team’s gamble. Oliver Bearman’s Formula 2 season has been shaky, partly due to the struggles of the Prema team (consider Bahrain, Austria, and Imola), and the 2005-born driver is currently in 13th place in the standings with 25 points less than his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli. This gap can be partially explained by the Jeddah weekend, where Oliver Bearman had to “give up” pole position because Ferrari called him to replace Carlos Sainz, who was suffering from appendicitis.

Oliver Bearman’s comments
That very weekend, in which he secured seventh place ahead of fellow countrymen Norris and Hamilton, played a significant role in his promotion to Haas for 2025. Ollie Bearman himself admits this: “I think Jeddah showed what I am capable of and that rookies are not so far behind the pack. I believe it played a crucial role in why I am here,” he said at the Silverstone press conference. “The F2 season is going like this. I think I am performing at a level I have never reached before, then I get to Montmeló and finish last, whereas last year I won by three seconds.”

Oliver Bearman’s goal is naturally to return to Ferrari, but as a full-time driver, like Charles Leclerc did in 2019: “I hope so, it would be a dream. It’s not all in my hands, all I can do is give my best.” He will have time to prove his worth, even though the last young drivers Haas picked from the lower series did not meet expectations, such as Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Team principal Ayao Komatsu said in an interview that he has no doubts about Oliver Bearman’s abilities and evaluates him more on his performance with the team in free practice sessions and tests rather than his results in Formula 2.

For now, Oliver Bearman’s 2024 F2 campaign has not gone as planned. The Prema driver had to withdraw from the Jeddah round to fill in for Ferrari in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Since then, the 19-year-old has struggled with qualifying, securing a front-row start only twice in the first eight rounds. His race performances have also been disappointing. The Briton has been involved in collisions at Bahrain, Melbourne, and Silverstone. Additionally, he faced technical issues at Bahrain and Austria.

Moreover, he crashed out in the Monte Carlo Grand Prix and endured a lengthy pit stop at the Imola circuit, which cost him the race lead: “I feel like I’m performing at a higher level than ever, then I get to Barcelona, and I literally finish last. Last year, I won the race by [three] seconds. I don’t have an answer yet. I hope that I can put the inconsistency down to something else rather than myself, because I honestly feel like I’m performing as high as I ever have – which makes sense, because I’m the most experienced that I’ve ever been.” – the Ferrari junior concluded.