Ferrari junior driver Oliver Bearman was recently confirmed for a full-time promotion to Formula 1 in 2025 after signing a multi-year deal with the Haas team. However, considering how Ferrari have been heavily invested in his development for the past couple of years, F1 pundit Tim Hauraney believes that he will eventually end up replacing Lewis Hamilton at the Prancing Horse.
Bearman, who was already taking on the duties as the reserve driver for Haas in 2024, will replace Sauber-bound Nico Hulkenberg next season. While the length of Bearman’s contract remains undisclosed, the American team announced that they had given a multi-year deal to the British driver.
However, Haas, which is Ferrari’s customer team, most likely won’t come in the way of the Italian outfit when they want to promote Bearman. Hamilton will be in his 40s next year and his stint with Ferrari from 2025 onwards will probably be his last and not a very long one either.
With that in mind, Adam Wylde asked Hauraney on the ‘Nailing The Apex’ podcast if Bearman was the guy who would eventually replace Hamilton. “Yeah, this would be the guy who would take over from Lewis whenever he decides to leave Formula 1,” Hauraney replied. “So putting him at Haas is probably the perfect place for him to learn and grow and mature.”
However, Hauraney also believes that similar to Mick Schumacher, Bearman will be under immense scrutiny during his time at Haas. And while Hauraney thinks that the expectations will be relatively low in Bearman’s debut season, he will be expected to outperform his teammate in his second season.
Bearman will have to prove himself at Haas to get an opportunity with Ferrari
Bearman has already proved that he belongs in Formula 1. Earlier in the season, he was called upon on short notice to stand in for Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to make his F1 debut.
For a driver who had never driven an F1 car for a full Grand Prix weekend previously, Bearman was mighty impressive. And considering how Jeddah is one of the fastest and most challenging street circuits on the calendar, Bearman’s faultless drive to a P7 finish on Sunday was undoubtedly fantastic.
With only one hour of practice in one of the most difficult tracks & no F1 experience Oliver Bearman finished P7 in his Ferrari debut!
For comparison, Carlos Sainz with several years of experience finished P8 in his Ferrari debut. pic.twitter.com/eGIGlVt4Kw
— Bamse (@Bamsemanden3) March 10, 2024
Speaking on Bearman’s debut performance, Hauraney explained, “I mean the team was expecting him to make a mistake. But he put it on the line and pulled out a remarkable result. And right there, that was all that anyone needed to see to know that this guy was ready for Formula 1.”
However, in Formula 1, you are only as good as your last race as many greats have previously said. This is why Bearman will be under pressure to perform at Haas because that will decide if his future lies with Ferrari or not.
