"I want to race in red. I want to win in red": Ferrari Academy prodigy Oliver Bearman opens up on his career trajectory and aspirations 

Ferrari Academy prodigy Oliver Bearman has been under the wings of the Italian giant for the past few years. With him having a taste of driving for the Scuderia already at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, his hunger to achieve greatness with the team has grown stronger, as he shared his dream of donning the prancing horse badge on his overalls and winning races with the team.

Bearman received a shock dream debut with the Maranello-based squad last year, where he brought in a revered seventh-place finish for the team after Carlos Sainz was ruled out for the race weekend. This helped him build a respectable stature in the F1 paddock, as Haas brought him onboard its driver lineup for the 2025 season.

While he still has a bigger points haul in the 2024 season, seven points against 2025's six points, the 20-year-old is understood to be honing his skills at the American team before the Italian giant calls him up to Maranello. Talking about his ambitions in an interview with Autosport, Bearman revealed his desire to win in red as he said:

"I feel I’ve got what it takes to drive for the team one day, but it’s up to me to prove it. I’m sure Ferrari believes in me – they’ve supported me this far and gave me the chance I have now. That’s what gets me out of bed every morning. I want to race in red. I want to win in red. That’s my main motivation."

Oliver Bearman made three race starts in the 2024 season and is a full-time driver for Haas in 2025.

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How did Oliver Bearman react to the news of Ferrari giving him a shock debut last year?

Oliver Bearman (L) and Frederic Vasseur (R) at the Ferrari garage during the qualifying for the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia - Source: Getty

Before landing a seat at the Kannapolis-based team, Oliver Bearman's debut result with Ferrari had a strong role to play in securing a drive at Haas for 2025. However, his maiden F1 start did not come without its fair share of interesting twists.

Talking about how he got to know about him substituting for Carlos Sainz at the Middle Eastern race and his subsequent reaction, the Briton said on the High Performance podcast:

"Chris’s (Bearman's manager) phone wasn’t working correctly, so I called Fred afterwards, and he broke the news to me. I think I panicked a bit because he was telling me to calm down and just to head to the track. It was crazy. I think he could tell the panic in my voice and how crazy I went."

Bearman currently sits 18th in the drivers' standings after 12 rounds of racing in the 2025 season.

Edited by Mitali