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Oliver Bearman made his single-seater debut in 2020 in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship with US Racing, where he finished 2nd in the rookie standings with 3 podiums, including a first victory at the Hockenheimring. The Briton also took part in three rounds of Italian Formula 4, where he finished on the podium twice. The following year, in 2021, the driver won the title in both championships.
Alongside his 2021 Formula 4 season, Bearman competed in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Fortec Motorsports. In 2021, he was invited to take part in the FIA Formula 3 post-season test with Prema Racing and joined the Ferrari Drivers Academy. The Briton entered the championship with the Italian team in 2022 alongside Arthur Leclerc and Jak Crawford. At the end of the year, he finished third in the championship behind Victor Martins.
The Chelmsford native is promoted by his team to Formula 2 for the 2023 season. He becomes the partner of Frederik Vesti. After a difficult start, marked by several incidents, "Ollie" wins his first race in the F1 antechamber during the sprint race on the Baku circuit in Azerbaijan, which he totally dominates. The Englishman ends 2023 in sixth place in the drivers' championship with 130 points, four victories, five podiums, two pole positions and two fastest laps. The young Ferrari protégé continues with Prema for the following season. At the dawn of the 2024 season, Ferrari names him reserve driver, sharing the role with Robert Shwartzman and Antonio Giovinazzi.
Oliver Bearman made his Formula One debut in a private season run by Ferrari at Fiorano in Italy in 1. Later that year, he took part in his first official session in Free Practice 2023 at the Mexican Grand Prix in Kevin Magnussen's Haas car. The Bearman took part in a second free practice session at the 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before driving the VF-2023 in the post-season young driver test.
Oliver Bearman aboard the Haas VF-23 during Free Practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix © FLORENT GOODEN / DPPI Media
In 2024, the shared reserve driver between Haas and Ferrari was called upon several times. Bearman replaced Carlos Sainz, who suffered from appendicitis, at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and scored his first 6 points in Formula 1 after a clinical weekend. Ollie Bearman made his debut for Haas at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, replacing Kevin Magnussen who had been suspended for one race. The Englishman beat teammate Nico Hulkenberg to tenth and take a point, making him the first driver to score points for two different teams in his first two races.
Kevin Magnussen, ill, withdraws and it is the young reserve driver who will replace him again at the São Paulo Grand Prix. He takes the checkered flag in twelfth position after receiving a 10-second penalty following a collision with Franco Colapinto in a chaotic race. His teammate is disqualified after receiving outside help to get back on track. Haas had announced in July that Oliver Bearman would be one of the team's two drivers on the grid in 2025. Since he has started more than four times a Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon's future teammate is no longer considered a rookie and did not take part in the post-season tests with the American team.
Oliver Bearman is a precocious driver as he has quickly climbed the ladder of the promotional formulas. His second season in Formula 2 having been disrupted by his appearances in Formula 1, his results appear to be misleading and his disappointing twelfth place seems far from being representative of his talent. He has an impressive capacity for adaptation that he had the opportunity to show by taking over the single-seaters of Ferrari and Haas at short notice. Bearman is a complete driver, but his experience remains to be perfected.