Oliver Bearman

Oliver Bearman is a product of Ferrari's elite junior driver pipeline — and he announced himself to the world with one of the most audacious debut performances Formula 1 has ever seen. Born in Chelmsford, Essex, Bearman rose through the Italian and German Formula 4 championships in 2021, winning both in his very first season of car racing, before progressing through Formula 3 and Formula 2 while serving simultaneously as Ferrari's official reserve driver. He was being groomed for the sport's biggest stage — but nobody expected that stage to arrive quite so suddenly.

Hours before the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz was rushed to hospital with appendicitis. With virtually no notice, 18-year-old Bearman stepped into the Ferrari SF-24 and drove the race of his life — finishing seventh on debut, outpacing experienced Formula 1 regulars, and drawing astonished praise from Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and virtually everyone watching. The performance earned him a full-time Haas seat for 2025, converting an emergency substitute role into a permanent career launch.

Now in his second full season at Haas alongside Ocon in 2026, Bearman continues to add race experience and mechanical understanding to the raw pace that first announced him so spectacularly.