Karun Chandhok urges rising F1 star to keep ‘reminding Ferrari he’s there’

Ollie Bearman has been urged to keep reminding Ferrari that he is ready to drive for them once a seat becomes available with the Italian Formula 1 team.

Bearman has shone in the early stages of his F1 career and made an immediate impression by scoring points on his debut as a last-minute Ferrari stand-in for Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old Briton went on to have a strong rookie season with Haas, where he outperformed his more experienced team-mate Esteban Ocon. Bearman has continued his fine form into 2026, scoring 17 points in the first three races of the new campaign.

Bearman’s eye-catching performances see him continually be linked with Ferrari and he is considered to be Lewis Hamilton’s natural successor once the seven-time world champion calls time on his legendary career.

Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok believes Bearman is doing all the right things to earn a seat at the Maranello outfit.

"Ollie Bearman has done a brilliant job, really picked up from where he left off last season where he outperformed Esteban Ocon," Chandhok explained during the Sky Sports F1 Show.

"I think Haas has done a good job. They've come out of the blocks with a bang. They are one of the smallest teams in terms of the workforce on the grid, and they've come out with a car that is arguably best of the rest behind the top teams.

"Ollie's just got to keep reminding Ferrari that he's there. That's his goal, right? Is to remind Ferrari that when the day comes when Lewis [Hamilton] decides he's had enough or Charles [Leclerc] decides he might want to move on, Ollie's there in full position to take that seat. And so far, you'd have to say he's done a great job of it.”

Bearman has openly admitted that his target is to earn a full-time F1 seat with Ferrari.

“That’s of course my target, especially given the trust that they gave me, first of all to take me into their academy and invest so much in me from F3 all the way to Formula 1, put me in this seat with Haas, and also to trust me with their car when Carlos [Sainz] was sick,” Bearman told the Up to Speed podcast.

“They had other reserve drivers who had more experience, but they took the shot on the 18-year-old, and luckily, it worked out. So they’ve obviously given me a huge amount of trust and believed in me from the very beginning.”