Oliver Bearman has outlined his vision for how he sees his second season in Formula 1 to unfold, after having “upped” his game in his maiden full season.
The Brit helped his Haas team to its second-highest points total ever in 2025, alongside experienced team-mate Esteban Ocon.
Despite Bearman incurring enough penalty points to face the risk of a one-race ban, there were plenty of signs the 20-year-old is very much at home in F1.
His best moment indoubtedly came at the Mexico City Grand Prix, in which he battled with Max Verstappen, and eventually went on to finish fourth.
Amid the launch of the American squad’s VF-26, Bearman spoke of his learning curve in 2025, and how it sets him up for an even better 2026.
“It was a year where I certainly learned a lot, not only about myself as a person, or as an athlete, but also about Formula 1,” he said.
“I’ve really increased my knowledge base infinitely, because I’ve been put in experiences that you just can’t learn prior to experiencing them. I’ve definitely improved a lot in all of those areas and I’m really happy with how the season went, particularly the second half.
“I really upped my game, I felt like in the second half of the season, I started to put down some really some results that I was really happy with, and that was critical for me. I’m excited to continue that this year.”
‘Knowledge base’ gives Oliver Bearman platform to continue upwards trajectory
Bearman acknowledged that now he has a year of F1 under his belt, having built up further experience on tracks he already knew and on ones he didn’t previously, he can increase the nous he already built behind the wheel to continue his progress.
“I’m most excited to return to all of these circuits, having experienced a race weekend already,” he added.
“I now understand how a track evolves through the weekend, how the tyres perform, and what changes may have tripped me up last year.
“More often than not, last year, I was going to new circuits where my competition had been plenty of times.
“Of course, I’m now going to circuits that I’ve only driven at once, and where my competition has driven 10 or 11 times, but I feel like even just having one race weekend’s worth of experience at a circuit, and the knowledge base that I’ve built up from a full season of F1 is going to put me in a much better place.”
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