Get to Know Your Rookies: All About Oliver Bearman

Oliver Bearman, the 19-year-old rookie driver for the MoneyGram Haas Formula 1 Team, was born in England and raised in Chelmsford. The young Ollie, as most people know him, began his karting career at the age of seven and won several national and continental titles. He left school when he was 16 to join the Ferrari Driver Academy in Modena, Italy and started karting competitively. Bearman also went on to race in the Trent Valley Kart Club Championship. The talented rookie then moved to compete in the Super 1 National Championships, where he managed to finish second in 2016 and 2017, racing in the Cadet section.

Bearman won the Karmasters British Grand Prix back in 2017, then ended his karting career with a strong finish by winning the IAME International Final, IAME Winter Cup, and IAME Euro Series in 2019. The Haas rookie also won the Euro Series in the X30 Senior Category in 2020. He made his way to Formula 4 during the years 2020 and 2021, then progressed further to Formula 3 during 2021 and 2022. Quickly, Bearman ended up driving in Formula 2 in 2022 and 2023.

Bearman became the reserve driver for Ferrari and made his Formula 1 debut in the 2024 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix in place of Carlos Sainz when he fell ill. This made him the youngest driver ever to compete for Ferrari. He also became the youngest driver to score points on a debut race, as he was able to hold off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton towards the end, securing seventh place. During the race, he was voted Driver of the Day by fans and was praised for his exceptional driving on such short notice. He remained on standby for the Australian Grand Prix, but Sainz had made a comeback and was fit to drive once again.

In July, the Haas team announced that Bearman signed a multi-year contract with them for 2025 and made an early debut at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He finished in 10th, beating his teammate Nico Hülkenberg and scoring additional points, making himself the first driver in history to score points for two different teams in his first two races. So far, he has done his best in the Formula 1 car for the Haas team, but it seems things are not going the way he wishes. Make sure to look out for the rookie during the upcoming race during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on April 20th.