Actor

2005-05-08 · Havering · Male

5 series in the catalog

Oliver James Bearman (; born 8 May 2005) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Haas.

Born and raised in Chelmsford, Bearman began competitive kart racing aged seven, winning several national and continental titles. Graduating to junior formulae in 2020, Bearman won his first title at the 2021 Italian F4 Championship, also winning the ADAC F4 Championship that year, both with Van Amersfoort. He then competed in FIA Formula 3 in 2022, finishing third in his rookie season with Prema. Bearman progressed to FIA Formula 2 in 2023, finishing sixth that year and winning several races across two seasons.

A member of the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2022, Bearman was a reserve driver for both Ferrari and Haas in 2024, substituting for Carlos Sainz Jr. in Saudi Arabia—making his Formula One debut at the age of eighteen—and for Kevin Magnussen in Azerbaijan and São Paulo, becoming the youngest-ever driver to compete for Ferrari at the former. Bearman joined Haas as a full-time driver in 2025 alongside Esteban Ocon. Bearman is contracted to remain at Haas until at least the end of the 2027 season.

Early and personal life

Oliver James Bearman was born on 8 May 2005 to David and Terri Bearman in Havering, London. He has a younger brother, Thomas Bearman (who is also a racing driver), and a sister. His father is the founder and chief executive officer of the insurance firm Aventum Group. Bearman grew up in Chelmsford, Essex, where he attended King Edward VI Grammar School. Bearman left school at the age of sixteen to join the Ferrari Driver Academy in Modena, Italy.

Bearman chose 87 as his permanent racing number for Formula One, as it was the number that he first used in kart racing.

Junior racing career

Karting (2013–2020)

Bearman started karting competitively in 2013, when he raced in the championship of the Trent Valley Kart Club. He then moved to compete in the Super 1 National Championships, where he managed a best finish of second in 2016 and 2017, driving in the Cadet category. He then won the Kartmasters British Grand Prix in 2017, and he finished his karting career off strongly in 2019 with victory in the IAME International Final, IAME Euro Series and IAME Winter Cup. Bearman also won the IAME Winter Cup and the Euro Series in the X30 Senior Category during 2020.

Formula 4 (2020–2021)

2020: Junior formulae debut

In 2020, Bearman made his single-seater debut in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship with US Racing, whilst also racing in three rounds of Italian F4. His campaign in the German series started off with regular points finishes in the first two rounds, before achieving his debut victory at the Hockenheimring. Bearman followed that up by scoring two further podiums, one at the Nürburgring and Oschersleben. Bearman finished seventh in the standings with 144 points, ahead of fellow rookie teammate Vladislav Lomko but behind top rookie and teammate Tim Tramnitz. In his appearances in the Italian Championship, Bearman scored a total of two podiums, with one of them being a race win in Vallelunga, leading to him finishing tenth in the end results.

2021: Maiden championships

For the 2021 season, Bearman switched to Van Amersfoort Racing to perform double duties in both the German and Italian F4 Championships. In the Italian series, the Brit kicked off his season with a third place at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Following another podium in the same round, Bearman went on a podium and win streak, which lasted for nine and seven races respectively. This included two victories in Misano, a hat-trick of wins at the Vallelunga Circuit and two wins in Imola. However, a disqualification from the third Imola race for an engine irregularity meant that Bearman lost his streak, having originally won the race. Undeterred, Bearman achieved his eighth win of the season at the following race at the Red Bull Ring, and followed it up with another podium in the second race. In the penultimate round of the season in Mugello, despite not scoring any podiums, Bearman won the title with a tenth place in the third race, putting the championship out of reach for his closest rival Tim Tramnitz. He rounded out his campaign in perfect style, winning all three rounds during the season finale in Monza. Bearman had dominated the season with eleven wins, fifteen podiums and 343 points, 111 ahead of his nearest rival.

In the German championship, Bearman started the season with a double victory in the opening round at the Red Bull Ring, although a collision with Luke Browning on the opening lap in Race 3 prevented a clean sweep. He emulated his feat the next round in Zandvoort, securing another double victory. He took another win at Hockenheim, and despite four more podiums in the next two rounds, title rival Tramnitz closed the gap with three wins. In the Nürburgring finale, he won the second race, and a fourth place on Race 3 allowed Bearman to secure the ADAC F4 crown. It was another outstanding season for Bearman, taking six wins, eleven podiums and 295 points on route to becoming the first driver to win two successive Formula 4 titles in one year.

In September 2021, as a reward for his two F4 titles, Bearman was nominated for the Autosport BRDC Award. Additionally, in December 2021, Bearman was awarded the Henry Surtees Award for most outstanding performance by a BRDC rising star.

Formula Three (2021–2022)

2021

Along with his duties in Formula 4, Bearman raced in the GB3 Championship with Fortec Motorsports, partnering Roberto Faria and Mikkel Grundtvig. He started his campaign off strongly, scoring two second-place finishes in the first two races at Brands Hatch. Having skipped the following three rounds in order to concentrate on his F4 campaign, Bearman came back at the Snetterton Circuit, where he won the opening race, and he followed that up by qualifying on pole for the first race at Silverstone. However, his chances of victory were slashed after losing his front left wheel on the second lap, which meant that a second place in Race 2 was the highest finish of his weekend. Bearman did not take part in any more rounds following that and he finished 14th in the standings, with 163 points.

2022

Formula Regional

In the winter of 2022, Bearman signed with Mumbai Falcons to partake in the final two rounds of the Formula Regional Asian Championship. His main highlight was a podium in only his second race at the Dubai Autodrome, and with two other points finishes, he placed 15th in the standings.

FIA Formula 3

On 31 October 2021, Bearman was announced to be participating in the post-season test of the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Prema Racing, partnering Jak Crawford, Arthur Leclerc and Paul Aron. At the end of the year, Bearman was announced to be driving with Prema for the 2022 season alongside Crawford and Leclerc.

Bearman started his season by controlling the first race of the year in Bahrain, although, having crossed the finish line in first place, he was issued a penalty for multiple track limits breaches, which demoted him to second behind Isack Hadjar. He followed it up with a strong sixth place in the feature race. This was followed by a disappointing event at Imola; there, having been denied a points finish in the first race due to a spin that had come as a direct result of teammate Leclerc pushing him onto the grass, Bearman was battling to remain in third place near the end of Sunday's feature race. On the final lap, Bearman collided with Grégoire Saucy at the penultimate corner, which sent the Swiss driver out of the race and caused Bearman to be demoted from fourth to 17th post-race. The next round in Barcelona panned out more quietly, scoring a fifth place during the feature race.

Bearman gained form in the subsequent three rounds, starting from Silverstone, where from sixth, Bearman made a penultimate lap pass on Caio Collet for the rostrum places before battling his compatriot Zak O'Sullivan to the line for second…