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6 hours ago
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There is an unmistakeable air of steely determination about Ollie Bearman; an almost disquieting sense of purpose doubtless instrumental in propelling the 19-year-old British driver into Formula One with an eye-catching opening to his career.
Bearman is about to enter his first full season with the Haas team and while tearing most teenagers away from their friends is a torturous task, since he left home in Essex at 16 to pursue the dream of reaching F1, everything has been subsumed to the cause.
“I lost all of my friends pretty much in the UK,” he says. “It’s an unfortunate aspect of life but if that was the thing that got me to F1 I would give it up in a heartbeat every single time. I would have moved away five years earlier if it guaranteed me a seat in F1. There’s no length, there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do to get to F1, there’s nothing stopping me.”
Tall and rakish thin, Bearman cuts a slight figure as we speak in anticipation of this weekend’s opening race of the new season in Melbourne. His accent, coloured by all the time living away from home, is now noticeably almost unplaceable, international to the extent that he admits people are surprised when he reveals he is from Essex.
He makes for pleasant company, clearly still enjoying the sensation of having made it to F1. An endearing quality, yet one marked also by the resolute self-belief noticeable among great drivers during their exploratory steps into the sport. Lewis Hamilton had it, as did Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and most recently, Max Verstappen.
The young Brit admires them all and wishes to emulate their success, including by taking inspiration and motivation from every possible source. Having recently moved to Monaco, Bearman has taken to cycling and has managed to persuade the three-time Tour De France winner Tadej Pogacar to join him as a partner on long rides across the Côte d’Azur.
“I’ve gotten into cycling and I try and go as much as I can with people who are much better than me because it really puts me in my place and motivates me to work harder,” he explains.
“As with anything, if you surround yourself with people who are performing and are better than you are it’s a good driver to improve,” he adds with a smile, as if banging out the miles with cycling’s outstanding talent was a matter of course. “I’m a competitive guy, I like to be good at everything I do.”
This has been evident for no little time already, not least since Bearman made his mark on F1 when, as a Ferrari reserve driver, he was drafted in at the last minute to replace Carlos Sainz who was stricken with appendicitis just before last year’s Saudi Arabian GP. At 18, Bearman became the youngest British driver to compete in F1 and he rose to the occasion.
Parachuted in with just one practice session before qualifying he drove exceptionally well, including in the latter stages holding off a charge from both Hamilton and Lando Norris, to claim seventh. Hamilton made a point of greeting Bearman after he climbed from his car, offering a hug and his congratulations.
“I spoke to Lewis, it was one of the very first times and it was a very special feeling because he’s someone I’ve watched my entire career,” he says. “I’m very aware that it was a life-changing moment for me and a very big reason why I’m here today. It will definitely be a moment that I’ll tell my grandchildren [about] one day.”
Father Christmas deserves some recognition in the Bearman story too as the driver notes, for it was that well-known supporter of youngster’s dreams who delivered his first go-kart when he was six years old and from which grew his driving ambition. He followed it with the support of his dad, David and mum, Terri, right though to being taken on as part of the Ferrari academy in 2022 and leaving home.
“It was tough. I left home when I was 16 and I haven’t lived at home since,” he says. “I was coming back sometimes on the weekends to visit my parents. In 2022, I moved to Italy. They would come and visit me and would see me at the races and I would try and come home to the UK to see them as much as I could but now I’m at the age where I am independent.”
There was little surprise in July last year when Bearman was confirmed for the Haas seat full time and two more outings for them followed in 2024, standing in for Kevin Magnussen, again both proving impressive. His former team principal at the Prema team in F3 and F2, René Rosin, noted how quickly Bearman has adapted and improved both on track and technically, with prodigious alacrity since 2022.
Now he stands ready for his first full season but while still considering himself a rookie, such has been the impact of his performances he can expect scrutiny. He must first be judged against his enormously experienced teammate, the Frenchman, Esteban Ocon while the Haas will be in the mid-midfield at very best this season where it is a dogfight week in-week out. Showing control and judgement, as well as consistency will be as vital as raw pace if Bearman is to make his case for a further step-up.
This might, of course, be considered intimidating, overawing even but without a hint of conceit, Bearman betrays no such fragility. “You always have these questions, whether you have what it takes to perform on the level of these guys or not,” he says. “But straight away I proved to myself that I do and confidence is generally something that I don’t struggle with.”
Quiet determination indeed. In a season with potentially engrossing narratives across the grid, Britain’s newest young gun might be writing but the first chapter of a mighty tale.
