Lewis Hamilton realised his childhood dream with the seven-time F1 champion’s shock move over from Mercedes to Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season to replace Carlos Sainz.
The 40-year-old formed part of F1’s most successful driver-team pairing yet in Brackley, with Hamilton and Mercedes winning six drivers’ titles, eight teams’ titles, 84 Grand Prix, 78 pole positions and 153 podiums. But his new life in red has not started as successful as hoped for.
While Hamilton won the Sprint in Shanghai in just his second race weekend with Ferrari, the SF-25 has proven to be a step below the Scuderia’s projections. The rear of Ferrari’s 2025 F1 car is structurally too soft and seeing them lose performance having to raise the ride height.
Additionally, straight after the Briton’s Shanghai Sprint success, Ferrari registered their first-ever double disqualification in China. Post-race checks found excessive wear to the rear skid plank on Hamilton’s car and the DSQs help leave Ferrari fourth in the F1 constructors’ table.
Ferrari have ‘never stopped’ watching Oliver Bearman since he joined Haas for F1 2025
It has not been the start to the 2025 F1 season those in Maranello hoped for when Hamilton realised his childhood dream by joining Ferrari. But Scuderia chiefs can have some joy in the results that Ferrari Driver Academy product Oliver Bearman has achieved with Haas thus far.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferrari have ‘never stopped’ watching Bearman since the 19-year-old left his role as the Scuderia’s reserve driver to take up a full-time seat with Haas. The Briton joined the American F1 team on a two-year contract to replace Nico Hulkenberg.
READ MORE: Who is 2025 Haas driver Oliver Bearman? Everything to know
Bearman is one of the six full-season rookies on the 2025 F1 grid and only Hamilton’s heir at Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, outscored the Haas gem during the first three rounds. The Italian has taken 30 points, while the Briton has five after top 10 finishes in China and Japan.
Oliver Bearman achieved his F1 career-best qualifying at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix
Ferrari could have an opening for Bearman in their line-up once the Briton’s contract at Haas expires, with Hamilton also only under contract through 2026. Charles Leclerc has a contract through 2029, yet his deal with the Scuderia includes options to leave potentially after 2026.
Despite Hamilton also only arriving in Maranello in 2025, it has long been considered that it is a matter of time before Bearman joins Ferrari if he impresses for Haas. And the Briton has so far delivered to build on the potential he proved across Bearman’s three cameos in 2024.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Leclerc called Bearman ‘very impressive’ after achieving P7 on his F1 debut for Ferrari at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix having stepped in at late notice as Sainz required surgery for appendicitis. The Briton also deputised for Haas in Azerbaijan (P10) and Brazil (P12) in 2024.
His 2025 campaign started on the wrong foot in practice for the Australian Grand Prix when Bearman crashed in FP1 and spun into the gravel in FP3. But he bounced back to claim P14 in the race, before scoring P8 in the Chinese Grand Prix and P10 in the Japanese Grand Prix.
Suzuka even saw Bearman pen his career-best qualifying with P10 for the Japanese GP after reaching Q3 for the first time. Now, he returns to a track the Briton is far more familiar with at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend after Sakhir held testing for the 2025 term in February.
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