Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner has been drawing consideration to the fast rise of Oliver Bearman, whose latest performances have begun to reshape the dialog round the way forward for Ferrari’s Formulation 1 driver line-up. Because the 2025 F1 season unfolds, the championship has seen a wave of proficient newcomers set up themselves, proving that the game’s subsequent era is arriving far prior to anticipated. Drivers comparable to Isack Hadjar and Andrea Kimi Antonelli have already achieved breakthrough podium finishes, whereas Oliver Bearman and Gabriel Bortoleto proceed to reveal why groups view them as long-term investments.
Ollie Bearman’s rookie marketing campaign started with important problem, notably after his incident-heavy debut in Melbourne. The early errors left him with a rising variety of penalty factors, putting him dangerously near a one-race suspension. But the younger British driver has fully remodeled his season. Over the previous 4 Grands Prix, he has delivered a string of points-scoring performances, exhibiting each consistency and uncooked pace. These outcomes have pushed him towards the sides of the highest ten within the drivers’ standings—a powerful achievement given his inexperience and the aggressive nature of the midfield battle.
Steiner, now talking extra freely since leaving Haas, has been unequivocal in his evaluation: Ferrari can not afford to disregard what is going on. In his view, Bearman is evolving into the kind of driver who will quickly entice aggressive curiosity from each main Formulation 1 group. The previous group principal instructed that the Scuderia should act decisively in the event that they intend to safe Ollie Bearman’s long-term dedication, warning that the 20-year-old may rapidly change into some of the coveted names within the 2027 driver market.
Prime groups will chase Bearman, Steiner predicts
Throughout an look on The Pink Flags Podcast, Steiner was requested whether or not Oliver Bearman must be thought-about as a possible successor to Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari. He supported the concept and famous that the Ferrari junior has developed at a outstanding tempo, notably because the opening rounds of the season. Guenther Steiner defined that though Oliver Bearman made a number of errors early on, his latest kind has proven a stage of maturity and precision normally related to much more skilled drivers.
Based on Guenther Steiner, Oliver Bearman has been outperforming Esteban Ocon with growing regularity, regardless of Esteban Ocon’s higher expertise and considerably larger wage. The previous Haasteam boss emphasised that, in his evaluation, if Ferrari don’t provide the Ferrari junior a seat by 2027, the younger Brit will inevitably be signed by one other front-running group. He portrayed Oliver Bearman as a driver who doesn’t belong within the midfield and who’s now proving, race after race, that he has the expertise to compete on the high of the grid.
Guenther Steiner additionally commented on Oliver Bearman’s contractual scenario, suggesting that Ferrari possible maintain a number of choices on the motive force given the funding they’ve made in his junior profession. Even so, Guenther Steiner famous that Oliver Bearman could have clauses that enable him to go away if Ferrari can not place him in a race seat by a particular deadline, possible round 2027 or 2028. This, he warned, locations further strain on the Italian group to make selections sooner reasonably than later.
Ferrari face an advanced alternative as Bearman improves
The fast evolution of Oliver Bearman’s kind has created a major strategic problem for Ferrari group principal Fred Vasseur. The Scuderia at the moment are overseeing a driver who seems able to changing into a number one determine within the subsequent era of Formulation 1 stars, but they’re additionally locked into long-term commitments with their present lineup. With Lewis Hamilton contracted till the tip of 2027 and Charles Leclerc secured on a good longer deal, Ferrari are dealing with a dilemma that might form the aggressive panorama for years to return.
Bearman, for his half, is eliminating the errors that have been frequent within the first races of the season. Probably the most notable early misstep got here at Silverstone, the place a crash underneath a pink flag ruined what may have been a powerful home-race qualifying efficiency. Since then, nonetheless, he has demonstrated far higher composure and racecraft, and the trajectory of his improvement is not possible for Ferrari to disregard.
Guenther Steiner has instructed that Ocon ought to now be involved, given how successfully Ollie Bearman has overturned the early-season deficit between them. Because the British driver continues to outperform expectations, it turns into more and more clear that Ferrari can not maintain him on mortgage at Haas indefinitely.
The problem will not be Bearman’s expertise—Ferrari acknowledge that they’ve one of many brightest younger prospects on the grid. As a substitute, the problem lies within the inner politics of the Scuderia. Transferring apart a seven-time world champion comparable to Hamilton, or asking their long-serving star Leclerc to yield his place, would spark a significant inner and exterior debate. But retaining Bearman with out a clear path to a Ferrari seat could show equally dangerous, particularly if rival groups start positioning themselves to lure him away.
As Oliver Bearman’s rise continues, Ferrari might want to make decisive decisions about their long-term driver technique. With the 2027 driver market shaping as much as be some of the aggressive in latest reminiscence, the Scuderia know that hesitation may value them one of many sport’s most promising abilities.
Nov 17, 2025
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