Ferrari only have one concern about Oliver Bearman as a potential Lewis Hamilton replacement

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Haas driver Oliver Bearman produced the best performance of his Formula 1 career at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

After back-to-back ninth-place finishes in Singapore and Austin, Oliver Bearman secured another top 10 qualifying position ahead of his Haas teammate Esteban Ocon.

The opening laps of the Mexico City Grand Prix are typically very chaotic, and Bearman was one of the few drivers who managed to stay out of trouble.

As Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen squabbled over positions, with the former picking up a penalty, Bearman struck, briefly running in third after a masterful set of overtakes through turns four, five and six.

Bearman’s move on Verstappen has been nominated for Overtake of the Month by Formula 1’s official social media accounts, alongside his battle with Alex Albon in Singapore.

After a decent but not spectacular start to his first full season in F1, Bearman has taken another step after the summer break.

He now sits above Ocon in the drivers’ championship, as the Frenchman has only scored three points since the Austrian Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old is still contracted to Ferrari, and Martin Brundle has suggested that Bearman is the perfect successor to Lewis Hamilton when he eventually leaves the team.

Journalist Ben Hunt has now shared the only worry Ferrari have about Bearman potentially stepping into Lewis Hamilton’s role in the future.

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Ferrari worried a top team will poach Oliver Bearman before he can replace Lewis Hamilton

Hunt was speaking about Bearman on the Inside the Piranha Club Podcast and said: “A level of maturity beyond belief for that young man. For me, he is obviously now a ready-made replacement for Hamilton at Ferrari.

“He lives in Italy, speaks Italian. I think if I were in charge of Ferrari, I’d be feeling pretty comfortable about my driver lineup from sort of 2027 onwards because I think that Bearman is learning his craft at Haas, which was always the intention.

“Exactly the same as what Russell had at Williams. Put on loan, get some experience for a couple of years, learn the tracks, more importantly, learn from mistakes and just develop as a driver.

“There is no better learning for Ollie Bearman. He came in with no pressure. He’s comfortably going head-to-head with his own teammate, an experienced driver in Esteban Ocon, and he’s delivering. It’s really wonderful and refreshing to see, and Ferrari must be pretty happy.

“I think the only thing that’s probably causing them some concern is just whether he’ll get picked up by another team and tempted elsewhere with the lure of an offer, or indeed whether they should make the switch sooner rather than later.”

Hunt was asked if that meant he was predicting Hamilton to leave Ferrari for the 2027 season and Bearman to replace him, and he concluded: “Yeah, I think that would probably make sense, wouldn’t it?”

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Lewis Hamilton impressed with Oliver Bearman at the Mexican Grand Prix

Bearman will spend next season at Haas after signing an initial two-year deal with the team following his impressive cameo performances in 2024.

It’s also believed that Bearman will double his salary at Haas going into 2026, a justified reward for a very impressive rookie campaign.

Haas’ car theoretically shouldn’t have been fast enough to hold off the Mercedes drivers, Oscar Piastri and Hamilton, who all ended up finishing behind the 20-year-old.

However, despite the 1.2km main straight, it was so difficult for cars to follow that Bearman managed to hang on without having to do any serious defending.

Hamilton congratulated Bearman on his performance, and while he won’t be thinking about his own retirement yet, Ferrari will have a succession plan in place.

Bearman will be very near the top of that list, as long as another top team in the paddock doesn’t tempt him away first.