Ollie Bearman tipped to be ‘fighting for F1 wins soon’ after standout Singapore GP

British racing driver Sam Bird has tipped Ollie Bearman to be “fighting for wins” in Formula 1 in the near future following an impressive performance at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Bearman was one of the standout performers across the weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

The Haas driver qualified inside the top ten, while teammate Esteban Ocon was knocked out in Q1.

Bearman converted that into a ninth-place finish, giving Haas their first points since the Dutch Grand Prix.

The British driver has consistently shown outstanding speed, particularly in qualifying.

However, occasional mistakes have held Bearman back during his rookie campaign.

Bearman is also within touching distance of picking up a one-race suspension due to a number of incidents this year.

Speaking on the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast after the Singapore Grand Prix, Bird said he believes Bearman will go on to achieve big things in F1.

“I give it a year, maybe two years, and he’ll be in a big seat, fighting for wins, fighting for podiums,” Bird said.

“He’s too good to be, he’s, in my opinion, been much quicker than Ocon a lot of the time, especially in qualifying.

“Maybe sometimes some mistakes have crept in, but he’s proving that he’s good enough to race at the front of this formula grid.

“He came in with such high expectations after his late Grand Prix debut in Saudi Arabia, where Carlos Sainz could no longer race due to appendicitis, and I think that this year, he has been really, really good to watch.

“If you look at all the rookies, I think Hadjar’s been great. I think Bearman’s been great, and those two have been the standout rookies for me. Even I know Antonelli has improved recently, but I wouldn’t say he stood out. Bortoleto, at times, as well. Those three have starred.”

Is Bearman destined for Ferrari?

Bearman is currently a Ferrari junior, but is a move to Maranello likely?

Since the formation of the Ferrari Driver Academy, only Charles Leclerc has made it into the Scuderia’s F1 race team.

Without his tragic accident at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, it’s likely Jules Bianchi would have been the first.

Ferrari have typically signed the biggest names available on the market over the past 20 years - whether that was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, Fernando Alonso in 2010, or Sebastian Vettel in 2015.

More recently, Lewis Hamilton was signed in place of Carlos Sainz, even if there’s been no obvious performance benefit in 2025.

Regardless, Bearman is showing that he has the speed and talent to enjoy a successful Formula 1 career.