British drivers Oliver Bearman and Lewis Hamilton are enduring contrasting starts to their respective stints for Haas and Ferrari at the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Great Britain accounts for 20% of the grid this year after Bearman secured a full-time seat at Haas and Hamilton quit Mercedes for Ferrari. They join Lando Norris at McLaren and George Russell at Mercedes flying the flag for Britain, marking the most Britons on a grid since 2013.
But while Bearman has settled in seamlessly with Haas, his new life in red has not been rosy for Hamilton at Ferrari. The seven-time F1 champion has struggled to gel with the Scuderia’s car to see the 40-year-old score only 31 points from the first five rounds of the 2025 season.
Hamilton is performing well below Ferrari’s expectations, having not finished any Grand Prix higher than his P5 in Bahrain. The Stevenage-born star also qualified in P10 in Sakhir and P7 in Saudi Arabia, so Ferrari feel it is essential Hamilton changes his driving style for the SF-25.
Oliver Bearman has ‘a lot to prove’ to join Ferrari despite his ‘promising’ start at Haas
Ferrari Driver Academy product Bearman, meanwhile, is enjoying a strong start to his life as a full-time F1 racer with Haas. The 19-year-old has scored six points with P8 in China, P10 in Japan and P10 in Bahrain, to even see Karun Chandhok think Bearman is Haas’ team leader.
His efforts are not going unnoticed, either, as Ferrari have never stopped watching Bearman – who became the Scuderia’s youngest-ever F1 driver with his last-minute debut in the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP. But Andrew Benson notes Bearman still has ‘a lot’ to prove to join Ferrari.
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Benson told the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast. “He’s just about a tenth on average quicker than [Esteban] Ocon. Now, Ocon is not an absolute A-grade driver, but he’s pretty decent in qualifying. So, that’s a very good start to his first full season from Ollie Bearman.
“But it’s just promising and it’s just a start. He’s got a lot to prove before he establishes himself as a future Ferrari driver. Of course, the problem for him at the moment is that they’ve already got Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.”
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Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu described Bearman’s arrival at the American F1 team this year as having the Havering native ‘on loan’ from Ferrari. The London-born racer joined their academy in 2022 after taking the Italian and ADAC F4 championships in the 2021 campaign.
| CHAMPIONSHIP POSITION | DRIVER | TEAM | POINTS |
| 6 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 38 |
| 13 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 6 |
| 14 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 5 |
| 18 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull/Racing Bulls | 0 |
| 19 | Jack Doohan | Alpine | 0 |
| 20 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | 0 |
It has even long been considered a matter of time before Bearman joins Ferrari so long as he impresses for Haas over the 2025 and 2026 F1 seasons. But Benson adds that if Ferrari have a seat free, likely created by Hamilton leaving them, they will not be short on replacements.
Benson added: “There’s no chance of Ferrari getting rid of Leclerc. He’s too good. The only way he’s leaving Ferrari is if he chooses to leave, and he’s under contract for quite a long time still. Hamilton, obviously, is more of a question mark.
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“But if and when Hamilton leaves Formula 1 or leaves Ferrari, then the likes of Norris, [Oscar] Piastri, [Max] Verstappen [and] Russell, they’re all going to be in contention for that seat because that’s Ferrari. So, let’s wait and see.”
Hamilton joined Ferrari on a two-year £78m base contract, which can hit £83m each season and has an option for 2027. But his troubles adapting to the SF-25 have sparked doubts the Briton will last long in Maranello, and Verstappen could replace Hamilton at Ferrari in 2027.
Verstappen is under contract at Red Bull through the 2028 F1 season, but has exit clauses in his deal which can be activated even this summer. McLaren also have Norris and Piastri tied up through 2028 and 2030, while Russell is out of contract with Mercedes beyond this term.
