Oliver Bearman told by Haas boss that he shares one ‘amazing’ attribute with F1 legend Fernando Alonso

Haas driver Oliver Bearman has had a very positive start to his first full season in Formula 1.

It’s not completely unique for a driver to earn a full-time race seat in F1 based on one performance, but Oliver Bearman will always point to the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as his big break.

He stepped into Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari at short notice when he was taken ill and scored six points for the Scuderia, earning Bearman plenty of praise on his surprising F1 debut.

Bearman was handed two more race weekends with Haas last season, scoring a point in Azerbaijan before surviving an unbelievably difficult race weekend in Sao Paulo.

That was enough to convince Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu to pair the young British driver with Esteban Ocon heading into 2025.

Bearman had a tough start in Australia, crashing during his first free practice session and finishing last of the classified runners during Sunday’s race.

However, that result appears to be an anomaly, as Bearman has now scored points in three of the first five Grand Prix of the campaign.

READ MORE: Who is 2025 Haas driver Oliver Bearman? Everything to know

Oliver Bearman compared to Fernando Alonso by Haas boss Ayao Komatsu

Bearman has hit the ground running at Haas and appears to have an edge over one lap compared to Ocon, recording a higher average qualifying position than Ocon so far this season (16.57 vs 16.50).

In an interview with The Race, Komatsu was asked about the rookie and made a surprising comparison to Aston Martin start Fernando Alonso.

He said, “He has [a particular driving style], but he still can drive around it.

“This is a very strong part of him. But if he is not careful, that could be the problem as well, because sometimes he doesn’t even know that he’s driving around it.

“He is just highly, highly capable. So, we just need to work with that. That’s not necessarily his fault. It’s actually amazing that he can drive around it, like Fernando Alonso.

“When I used to work with him a long time ago [at Renault], he could do that. But he complains a lot about the car in FP1, FP2, then in FP3 he realises, ‘OK, this is what I got. I drive around it’.

“But Ollie’s a rookie. Fernando Alonso is already a world champion.

“He [Bearman] certainly has the ability to be able to do that. Not many drivers can. So that’s a good thing to have.

“You are talking really fine-tuning. So he’s amazing to work with, really enjoying it.”

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2

How Oliver Bearman could replicate one step in Fernando Alonso’s Formula 1 career

Bearman is at the very beginning of his Formula 1 career, and while contracts in the sport aren’t always watertight, he’s expected to be a Haas driver in 2026.

He’s gotten up to speed impressively quickly, putting Ocon under more pressure than the one-time race winner would have expected.

However, Bearman’s ultimate goal is to be driving for a team capable of regularly winning races.

Bearman has been told he’s Lewis Hamilton’s perfect replacement at Ferrari, given that he’s currently on loan from the Scuderia at Haas.

It’s a move that Alonso made much earlier in his F1 career, racing for Ferrari for four seasons between 2011 and 2014.

He finished second in the drivers’ championship twice during that period, but could never topple Sebastian Vettel at the top of the standings.

Bearman will hope that if and when his opportunity comes with Ferrari, he can go one better than the Spaniard.