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Oliver Bearman must be finding Kimi Antonelli’s success at Mercedes this season particularly hard to watch.
Antonelli won his first Grand Prix in China in March, launching a historic run of five in a row. With a 25-point lead over teammate George Russell, he is the favourite to win the world championship.
Doing so would make him the youngest title winner in F1 history by more than three years, shattering the previous record set by Sebastian Vettel.
In 10 years from now, where do you think Kimi Antonelli will rank among F1’s greatest drivers?
Oliver Bearman must think ‘that should be me’ when Kimi Antonelli wins
Meanwhile, Bearman is in a midfield dogfight at Haas. He made a superb start to the season with a P7 in Australia and P5 in China, but he has only scored one point since as his team slide down the order.
Bearman was fifth in the world championship after Shanghai but he has now dropped to 12th. While he continues to outperform teammate Esteban Ocon, he hasn’t reached Q3 in any of the last 10 qualifying sessions.
Like Antonelli, Bearman is contracted to an F1 powerhouse in Ferrari. But with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc currently representing the Scuderia, he is locked out for the foreseeable future.
Ironically, it was Hamilton’s move from Mercedes to Ferrari that gave Antonelli the chance to drive a front-running car as a rookie. In year two, that became the best package on the grid.
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Bearman could be forgiven for feeling somewhat bitter, especially after sharing the Prema garage with Antonelli in Formula 2.
“He generally finishes the race a lap ahead of me,” Bearman told the BBC recently. “I was his team-mate so I know what I’m capable of against him.
“It proves to me that one day, given the chance, I can do the same.”
Antonelli finished six spots ahead of Bearman in the 2024 F2 championship, outscoring him 113-75. The Italian won the qualifying battle 8-4 and the race head-to-head 10-6 (when both were classified).
- READ MORE: Trouble ‘brewing’ at Haas as Esteban Ocon’s camp accuse the team of favouring Oliver Bearman
After pushing him hard in the feeder series, Bearman must be thinking ‘that should be me’ when he sees Antonelli on the podium. But if he stays within the Ferrari stable, it could be years before the chance arises – assuming he remains in favour.
Significantly, there are reports that Red Bull are interested in Bearman, but that option would only come into play if Max Verstappen left.
For now, he must continue to fight in the mud at Haas, hoping that the hard work eventually pays off, just as it did for George Russell after a three-year internship at Williams.
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