Oliver Bearman ‘ready’ for Ferrari call-up in honest assessment

Oliver Bearman believes that he is “ready” to step up to a seat with his parent team Ferrari, following an impressive rookie campaign.

Bearman narrowly outscored his veteran teammate, a Grand Prix winner, Esteban Ocon in his first season on the grid in 2025. Bearman does believe that he would be up to the task of a Ferrari promotion, but honestly admitted that he must “continue to prove” that he is at that level.

Oliver Bearman feels ‘ready’ to join Ferrari

Bearman made three stand-in appearances during 2024, debuting with Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, before contesting the Azerbaijan and Sao Paulo GPs with Haas.

Bearman earned his full-time graduation to the F1 grid for 2025, as a 19-year-old, and impressed. He ended the season with 41 points, compared to Ocon’s 38.

A long-serving member of the Ferrari academy, Bearman was asked by PlanetF1.com, and other accredited media, whether he feels ready for a Ferrari call-up if that happens in the near future.

Bearman will continue with Haas for F1 2026, with the Ferrari line-up one which carries particular intrigue for next season.

Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton endured a disappointing 2025 with Ferrari, his first season at Maranello. He is under contract until at least the end of 2026, and next year will look to rescue his Ferrari career.

Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, raised some eyebrows with his “now or never” assessment of his and Ferrari’s F1 2026 title chances. His manager has also hinted at driver market activity if Ferrari cannot deliver Leclerc a title-worthy car under the new rules next year.

“Well, you know, I’m in F1 and you have to back yourself. So yes, I believe I’m ready, but I have to continue to prove that,” said Bearman of a potential Ferrari promotion.

“It’s not that I had five or six good races that suddenly everything changes.

“But I think it’s also easy to forget that in the middle of the season, I had a run of four or five eleventh places in a row. So that was also consistent — just not quite good enough. And we’ve gained a bit of car performance since then. So that 11th place turns into a 10th, a ninth, an eighth, and that’s better received by everyone.

“So yeah, I’ve definitely improved, particularly since the summer break. I found a really good rhythm and momentum, and of course, I would say that I’m ready.”

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Bearman has made a positive impression on Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu.

Komatsu pointed to Bearman’s fourth-place finish in Mexico as the highlight, having narrowly missed out on a podium to Max Verstappen.

Bearman and Ocon will continue to form Haas’ F1 2026 line-up.

“Obviously, his talent was so clear from day one,” Komatsu said of Bearman.

“But if I say if he exceeded some areas, probably that [was in] Mexico, where all race, he had the top drivers behind him, like he had Max in the first stint. He had, I think, George [Russell] and Kimi [Antonelli] in the second stint, and then George and [Oscar] Piastri in the third stint. To just soak up the pressure, make no mistakes, to do that in the rookie season, I think it’s pretty amazing.

“I mean, when he was racing very, very in the midfield, there’s no surprise to me. I knew he could do it. Even places like Singapore, where he’s never been before, he was able to accomplish the weekend together. Even that one’s not exceeding my expectation.

“But that Mexico drive, where he had Max behind, you cannot get more tougher than that in terms of pressure. But, it’s as if he had no pressure. Of course, he had the pressure, right? But the way he drove during that race, with such calmness and accuracy, was another step.”

Asked how he has seen Bearman grow in handling the F1 pressure and all that comes with the sport, Komatsu added: “Yeah, that’s what we’ve been working on all year.

“Like I said, from day one, speed is clear, but, you know, him having a heavy crash twice in Melbourne, or overtaking cars under red flag in Monaco, or crashing under red flag in Silverstone… Those are sort of like moments where you really should be doing better, right?

“But we’ve been totally openly working with him. And the great thing about him is, back then he was still 19, but he’s just got very open-mindedness, and he’s absorbing really, really fast.

“So, I think, especially, like from Singapore onwards, his consistency improved. But you can see, as a result, maybe just that change, but it’s a long, long process of trying to get him to put a weekend together, just create the environment, and then make sure we have a correct approach, both from the team side and driver side, to make sure he can do that, build it up.

“And if you crescendo at the right moment… because his speed, there is no doubt, so it’s really about, how can we harness that talent in the right way, and we’ve been doing that together, and he’s getting there. So it’s brilliant to see.”

Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher

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