Oliver Bearman

4.1.1. 2020: Junior formulae debut

In 2020, Bearman made his single-seater racing debut, participating in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship with US Racing and also competing in three rounds of the Italian F4 Championship. His ADAC F4 campaign started with consistent points finishes in the opening two rounds. He then secured his first victory at the Hockenheimring in Race 2. This was followed by two additional podiums, one at the Nürburgring and another at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. Bearman concluded the season in seventh place with 144 points. In his appearances in the Italian F4 Championship, he achieved two podiums, including a race win at Vallelunga, ultimately finishing tenth in the standings.

4.1.2. 2021: Maiden championships

For the 2021 season, Bearman switched to Van Amersfoort Racing, undertaking double duties in both the German and Italian F4 Championships. In the Italian series, he started his season with a third-place finish at the Circuit Paul Ricard, followed by another podium in the same round. Bearman then embarked on an impressive streak, achieving podiums in nine consecutive races and seven consecutive wins. This included two victories at Misano, a hat-trick of wins at the Vallelunga Circuit, and two wins at Imola. However, he was disqualified from the third Imola race due to an engine irregularity, which ended his winning streak. Undeterred, Bearman secured his eighth win of the season at the next race at the Red Bull Ring, adding another podium in the second race. In the penultimate round at Mugello, he clinched the championship title despite not scoring any podiums, making it mathematically out of reach for his closest rival, Tim Tramnitz. He concluded his campaign by winning all three races at the season finale in Monza. Bearman dominated the season with eleven wins, fifteen podiums, and 343 points, finishing 111 points ahead of his nearest competitor.

In the German championship, Bearman commenced the season with a double victory in the opening round at the Red Bull Ring. A collision with Luke Browning in Race 3 prevented a clean sweep. He repeated his double victory feat in the next round at Zandvoort. He secured another win at Hockenheimring, and despite four more podiums in the subsequent two rounds, rival Tramnitz closed the gap with three wins. At the Nürburgring finale, Bearman won the second race, and a fourth-place finish in Race 3 allowed him to secure the ADAC F4 crown. This marked an exceptional season for Bearman, as he accumulated six wins, eleven podiums, and 295 points, becoming the first driver to win two successive Formula 4 titles in one year.

In September 2021, in recognition of his two F4 titles, Bearman was nominated for the Autosport BRDC Award. Additionally, in December 2021, he was awarded the Henry Surtees Award for the most outstanding performance by a BRDC rising star.

4.2.1. 2021

Alongside his Formula 4 commitments, Bearman competed in the GB3 Championship with Fortec Motorsports, partnering with Roberto Faria and Mikkel Grundtvig. He started strongly with two second-place finishes in the first two races at Brands Hatch. He skipped the following three rounds to focus on his F4 campaign but returned at the Snetterton Circuit, where he won the opening race. He then qualified on pole for the first race at Silverstone. However, his chances of victory were hampered by losing his front left wheel on the second lap, meaning a second-place finish in Race 2 was his best result of that weekend. Bearman did not take part in any further rounds, finishing 14th in the standings with 163 points.

4.2.2. 2022

The 2022 season saw Bearman continue his development in higher junior categories, competing in the Formula Regional Asian Championship and a full season in the FIA Formula 3 Championship.

4.3.1. 2023

On November 14, 2022, Bearman was announced as a Prema Racing driver for the 2023 Formula 2 Championship, partnering with Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti. His season began in Bahrain with 12th in qualifying, but he finished 15th in the sprint race. In the feature race, he rose to fourth early on due to first-lap chaos, but tyre degradation led to an early pit stop and a disappointing 14th place finish.

In Jeddah, Bearman topped practice and qualified second, marking a significant improvement. However, his sprint race ended after a collision with Théo Pourchaire. In the feature race, Bearman initially led but spun on his own, falling to tenth.

He qualified sixth in Melbourne despite an early crash. He finished seventh in the sprint race after battling multiple rivals. In the feature race, an incident with Isack Hadjar in the pits caused a puncture, forcing an extra stop and leading to a 17th-place finish.

Bearman claimed his maiden pole position in Baku in dramatic fashion, setting the fastest lap despite a shunt that bent his steering wheel. Starting ninth in the sprint race due to a penalty for Pourchaire, he navigated a chaotic race, capitalized on a late safety car restart, and took the lead after a mistake by teammate Vesti, becoming the second-youngest F2 race winner. The next day, Bearman controlled the feature race from pole, completing a double victory, becoming the ninth driver in GP2/F2 history and only the fourth rookie to achieve this feat.

The Monaco round was disappointing, with a sprint race retirement due to suspension issues and an 11th-place finish in the feature race after a poor qualifying. Despite this, he secured his second pole in Barcelona. A strong start in a wet sprint race led to a seventh-place finish. In the feature race, he fended off Enzo Fittipaldi at the start and controlled the race to secure his third win of the season.

In Austria, Bearman qualified a disappointing 19th. Despite this, he made a comeback in the sprint race, finishing eighth after a pit stop for slick tires. In the feature race, a timely pit stop during a safety car period allowed him to climb to fifth. In Silverstone, he qualified fifth. In the sprint race, he briefly reached second but spun and fell to sixth. In the feature race, contact with Kush Maini resulted in a five-second penalty, demoting him from sixth to eighth.

Bearman qualified seventh in Hungary. He finished third in the sprint race after a late lunge on Pourchaire. However, he lacked pace in the feature race, fading to 13th. He secured his third pole of the season in Spa-Francorchamps. In the feature race, he lost the lead to Pourchaire during pit stops and finished fourth, but a contact with Victor Martins resulted in a penalty, dropping him to seventh.

Starting sixth for the feature race in Zandvoort, Bearman spun at the start after being hit by Juan Manuel Correa. His race ended prematurely due to another collision with Martins, which broke his suspension.

Bearman qualified on the front row in Monza. Despite being shuffled outside the top 10 at the sprint race start, he gained positions to finish sixth. In the feature race, Bearman passed polesitter Pourchaire at the start and controlled the race for his fourth win of the season, placing him within one point of Martins for fifth in the standings.

He qualified 17th for the Abu Dhabi season finale. He finished tenth in the sprint race, but an engine failure on lap 20 ended his feature race prematurely. Despite this, Bearman finished his rookie season sixth in the drivers' championship with 130 points, securing four wins, five podiums, two pole positions, and two fastest laps. He also contributed to Prema securing second in the teams' championship.

4.3.2. 2024

Bearman continued with Prema Racing for the 2024 Formula 2 Championship season, partnered with Mercedes junior and 2023 FRECA champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Prema struggled to adapt to the new regulations at the start of the season. Bearman finished without points in the Bahrain opener after qualifying 18th. Despite these struggles, Bearman qualified on pole for the next round in Jeddah. However, he withdrew from the event to replace Carlos Sainz Jr. at Scuderia Ferrari for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Bearman returned in Melbourne, but a technical issue in qualifying limited him to 16th. He was set to score his first points in the sprint race with eighth, but received a penalty for forcing Joshua Dürksen wide, dropping him to 14th. In the feature race, despite being held in a double-stack pit stop under the safety car, Bearman finished ninth, scoring his first points of the season.

Bearman qualified second at Imola, finishing the sprint in fifth after taking advantage of a first-lap multi-car accident. During the feature race, Bearman took the lead on the opening lap but stalled during his mandatory pit stop, resulting in a 19th-place finish.

Bearman qualified 15th in Monte Carlo. In the feature race, a bold strategy call for an early stop led to a fourth-place finish, his best result of the season at that point. A difficult weekend followed in Barcelona, where he finished the sprint 21st due to track limits penalties and the feature race 14th, with `The Race` describing his performance as "truly turgid" due to balance struggles and severe tire degradation.

Bearman finally secured his first victory of the year in Austria by winning the sprint race from second, holding off Pepe Martí. He admitted it was "painful" not to be fighting for the championship. His feature race, however, ended prematurely on lap 21 due to an engine issue. Bearman qualified fifth for Silverstone. In the sprint race, he damaged his front wing after contact with Gabriel Bortoleto and retired on lap 15 due to another engine problem. In the feature race, he briefly moved to second but eventually fell to seventh.

Bearman failed to score points in Hungary due to a poor qualifying performance. More issues followed in Spa-Francorchamps, where he crashed out on the opening lap of the feature race after a collision with Zane Maloney and Martí, incurring a five-place grid drop for the next round.

In Monza, Bearman won the sprint race from eighth on the grid, securing his second triumph of the year. After improving to second at the start of the feature race, he battled teammate Antonelli and eventually finished seventh, marking his first double points finish of the season. Bearman missed the next round in Baku to replace a banned Kevin Magnussen at Haas for the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Bearman qualified on reverse pole in Qatar. Despite being passed by Isack Hadjar early in the sprint race, Bearman eventually re-passed him to secure his third win of the year. The feature race did not go as planned, as an early safety car hampered his alternate strategy, leading to a 12th-place finish. He qualified 15th for the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Bearman made good comebacks in the races, finishing fourth in the sprint and fifth in the feature. He concluded his season a disappointing 12th in the drivers' standings with 75 points, despite being considered a title favorite. Reflecting on his season, Bearman stated, "It was tough to not be fighting for wins regularly, but I will have seasons like this in my career and it has been a great learning experience." Throughout the season, he achieved three wins.

7.2.1. ADAC Formula 4 Championship

7.2.2. Italian F4 Championship

7.2.3. GB3 Championship

7.2.4. Formula Regional Asian Championship

7.2.5. FIA Formula 3 Championship

7.2.6. FIA Formula 2 Championship

7.2.7. Formula One