Oliver Bearman has admitted that earning a full-time Formula 1 seat with Ferrari is his ultimate “target,” in a bid to repay the faith the Scuderia has shown in him.
The young Brit has been part of the Maranello-based squad‘s academy since the age of 16, leaving school in England to upsticks to Italy.
It transpired to be an inspired gamble, as Bearman, amid rising the ranks of junior formulae, was retained by Ferrari, and infamously earned a debut Grand Prix appearance in place of a sick Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Speaking on the Up to Speed podcast, Bearman explained how the signing came about, via a bit of lobbying on his part.
“Actually, I went to that camp and had to convince them to sign me, because they were actually trying to sign karting drivers, not Formula 4 drivers,” he said.
When asked how Ferrari were finally convinced, Bearman said: “I would like to say that I went in there with loads of confidence and everything, but I was very nervous doing the meeting with the guys.
“But we went on track and showed them what we were capable of first hand, and that is a really cool thing that they do. They put the drivers to the test in front of them. It’s like football scouting, they see exactly what they’re capable of.
“I hope to one day put on the Ferrari suit and race for them, but I understand that it’s a long journey, I need to prove that I’m 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’m learning so much as well.”
The ‘trust’ given by Ferrari gives Oliver Bearman goal of permanent red race seat
With that one-off appearance in Jeddah seeing Bearman earn his spurs with a points finish, leading to two further stand-in appearances for Haas that year with more success, and then the full-time drive for the American squad, has led to speculation he will one day be the heir apparent to Lewis Hamilton.
And Bearman admitted a full-time race seat with Ferrari is his ultimate ambition, due to how much support they have given him.
“That’s of course my target, especially given the trust that they gave me, first of all to take me into their academy and invest so much in me from F3 all the way to Formula 1, put me in this seat with Haas, and also to trust me with their car when Carlos [Sainz] was sick,” he explained.
“They had other reserve drivers who had more experience, but they took the shot on the 18-year-old, and luckily, it worked out.
“So they’ve obviously given me a huge amount of trust and believed in me from the very beginning.”
Bearman’s performances across last year and already this year has led to further speculation that he will realise that dream sooner than later.
Hamilton has no intention of giving up just yet, but with the advantage of being half the seven-time World Champion’s age, who would bet against Bearman being seen in Ferrari red in the very near future?
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