Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle has argued that Haas rookie Oliver Bearman should be first in line for the next available Ferrari seat following his impressive performance at the Mexico Grand Prix.
The 20-year-old driver secured his best grand prix finish, and Haas’s joint best finish, with fourth place at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez after starting from ninth on the grid.
Bearman impressed on his F1 debut when he stepped in at the last minute for Carlos Sainz, who was driving for Ferrari at the time, at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Becoming the youngest driver to race for Ferrari, he qualified 11th and finished the grand prix in seventh to bring home six points on his debut. He later stepped in for Kevin Magnussen with Haas at the Azerbaijan and Brazilian Grands Prix in the same year. He signed a multi-year contract with the American outfit from 2025.
In his rookie season so far, Bearman has scored 32 points and currently sits 13th in the drivers’ standings.
While reflecting on Bearman’s performance in Mexico during the Sky Sports F1 Show, Brundle was quick to shower the British driver with praise.
“Absolutely outstanding. If you give that young man an opportunity, he'll grab it, like he did in Saudi with the Ferrari drive. He kept his head under a lot of pressure, especially in the closing stages with Oscar Piastri's McLaren behind him. He put a move on Max [Verstappen], made it stick, didn't go four wheels off the road, just.
"The moment that there's a seat at Ferrari for whatever reason, then Bearman should be in it as far as I'm concerned. I think he's outstanding and he's learning fast, and he's making the most of his opportunity.”
At this stage, there are no free seats at the Maranello outfit with Charles Leclerc on a multi-year contract and Lewis Hamilton under contract through 2026.
Agreeing with Brundle, 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve added: "He had a great beginning then a little bit of a dip and he was rebuilding himself. It's always nice to see when a driver goes back and comes back stronger - analyses it, studies, works with the team and figures it out. That's what he has been doing.
"You see progression and then you always wonder 'OK, when will the progression stop?' It's very promising. He was impressive this weekend because he was the complete deal. He was fast, pressure didn't affect him.
"He's a very aggressive driver but always under control, he has a tremendous race craft, good 3D space awareness. And not many drivers in F1 now have that.
"You see it with even some of the top guys - sometimes you see some moves and think what was he thinking? Where did he think his car would end up? Or how didn't he realise there would be other cars on the track next to him?
"And he seems to have that, which is great and it's very promising for the future. He's the kind of driver who seems to be better with the pressure, better in the big teams, better in the big league. He's better now than when he was in the smaller categories and that's super important."
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur also applauded Bearman for his performance in Mexico. "At one stage, I was thinking about a podium for him," he said. "No, he did very well. But if you have a look from the beginning of the season, he's doing well.
"Quite often, he had a small issue in the weekend, either in quali or in the race. And this weekend, he put everything together. He made zero mistakes and he's paying off. It's good also for the team to have two cars up into the points. Congratulations to Ayao and to Ollie."
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