Racing
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Ollie Bearman says watching former Formula 2 team-mate Kimi Antonelli fight George Russell at the front for Mercedes has strengthened his belief that he can one day make the same leap in Formula 1.
Speaking on the Drive to Wynn podcast, the Haas driver pointed to Antonelli and Russell’s battle in Canada as the clearest example yet. Bearman said the pair were “operating at an incredible level” and praised the way they “pushed each other to the absolute limit, but still gave each other respect, which is incredibly important between team mates.”
For Bearman, that fight carried extra weight because he knows Antonelli so well. The two were team-mates at Prema Racing in the 2024 Formula 2 season before moving up to Formula 1, with Bearman joining Haas full-time and Antonelli stepping into a Mercedes seat. Bearman said he “really enjoyed watching” Antonelli “taking the fight at the front” and added: “Of course, I know him very well, he was my team mate in F2, and it’s really, really nice to see.”
The significance for Bearman is not just admiration. He said seeing drivers he raced in F2 and F3 now go up against established Formula 1 names has given him confidence in his own ceiling. “I’m not fighting at the front, I’m not in a top-four car, unlike those two,” he said, “but seeing that they can take the fight to their team mates, and take the fight to the other competitors around them, also gives me a sense of belief for myself.”
Bearman said that link from the junior categories to the front of the F1 grid feels direct because he was competing against the same drivers only recently. “I fought with them in F2 and F3, and now they’re fighting with the top guys [in F1], so it’s another proof to me that one day I can do it as well,” he said.
That is why Antonelli’s rise has become a personal reference point for Bearman as he continues to build experience with Haas. He said it is also a source of urgency as much as encouragement: “It’s also motivation, because of course it’s great to see the young guys winning, but I’m also one of the young guys and I would really want to be there soon.”