Ferrari Faces Bearman Decision as Pressure Builds

Ferrari is under growing pressure to decide when Oliver Bearman fits into its Formula 1 future after former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said the 21-year-old is already ready for a front-running seat.

Steiner told Casino.org that Bearman has reached the point where he should be aiming beyond Haas. “I think Oliver now is ready to go to a team where he can win races or at least go to the podium,” Steiner said, while adding that Bearman’s age means “he will need to be patient.”

That view has been strengthened by Bearman’s start to 2026. The British driver sits eighth in the championship with 17 points after four races, including seventh in Melbourne and fifth in China. His Shanghai performance, in particular, fed the sense that he has both the pace and the composure to cope with bigger demands after fighting around the front-running cars with notable maturity.

The timing problem for Ferrari is obvious. Bearman is one of its academy drivers, but Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc still occupy the race seats. Hamilton is described in the source material as committed at least through the end of 2026, with 2027 either an option in his favor or a term widely believed to be part of his deal, leaving Bearman’s path closely tied to when Hamilton eventually steps aside.

David Coulthard, the 13-time Grand Prix winner, argued that Ferrari cannot afford to drift on that decision. Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, he called Bearman “a phenomenal racing driver” and said, “Ferrari has a star in its hands.” Coulthard added that “the question is not if they will promote him, but when.”

Coulthard’s warning was not only about Ferrari’s internal planning. He said waiting too long could invite other top teams to move first, naming Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren as potential suitors if Bearman decides he is ready and Ferrari still cannot offer a seat.

That risk is heightened by the structure of Bearman’s current arrangement, at least in Steiner’s view. He said Bearman likely has protection built into his Ferrari-Haas deal if a leading-team opportunity appears. “He will likely have some clauses in his contract with Ferrari that, should an offer come along for one of the leading teams, that he can leave Haas and go there, because that’s his next move,” Steiner said.

Bearman’s rise has already made this more than a long-term theory. After beating the more experienced Esteban Ocon in his first full Haas season in 2025, he has backed that up early in 2026 with points and performances that have sharpened the case for promotion. Ferrari now faces a familiar but high-stakes dilemma: whether it can time Hamilton’s eventual succession correctly, or risk seeing one of its own academy prospects taken by a rival before a seat opens.