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Ferrari are currently in their longest-ever championship drought in Formula 1, and Guenther Steiner doesn’t believe that their current line-up will be able to put an end to that.
The last time that the Tifosi celebrated any form of title feat in F1 came during the 2008 season, when Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen secured a second successive constructors’ championship for the Scuderia.
It’s been a long wait for one since, and after Lewis Hamilton’s apparent struggles during 2025, he has been warned that ‘the whole of Italy’ may give up on him if he isn’t able to put up some sort of title fight soon.
However, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has already given up on the 40-year-old, as well as his Ferrari counterpart Charles Leclerc, during his latest verdict on the Prancing Horse’s title hopes.
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Guenther Steiner thinks Oliver Bearman will be Ferrari’s next champion in Formula 1
During a recent episode of the Red Flags podcast, Guenther Steiner gave his opinion on where the 21 drivers who competed in the 2025 season stack up in the tier list.
He gave Leclerc and Hamilton a respective grade of A and B in the rankings, and was asked the question of whether the Monegasque would win a championship in the famous red colours of Ferrari.
The Italian motorsport executive quickly denounced the suggestion, before adding, “I think only [Oliver] Bearman goes there and wins it.”
The verdict is somewhat of a surprise, given the fact that Bearman is still quite an unproven talent after just one full-time season of racing in Formula 1.
Ferrari are reported to be keen on Bearman’s talents, but a future seat for him at Maranello isn’t a certainty just yet.
In order for that to happen, Bearman must keep up his good form into the upcoming season, where new regulations will be in play, and the adaptability of those on the grid will be tested.
If he fails to do so, he could easily ‘fall out of fashion’ in the opinions of those at Ferrari.
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Guenther Steiner gave Ollie Bearman a B+ grade for his rookie Formula 1 season
During his assessment of the young British driver’s season, Steiner settled on a grade of B+ for Bearman, citing the fact that he still has a lot of room for improvement in future years.
His words were, “I will give him a B+. Because if you give him an A, he gets too excited. A B+ is good improvement, but there is still a way to go.”
During the grand scheme of Steiner’s full tier list, Bearman was placed as the third-best rookie of the season, behind Isack Hadjar and Kimi Antonelli, respectively.
The former team boss has been highly complimentary of the 20-year-old’s talents during his career so far, and thinks that every top F1 team will be vying for Bearman’s signature ahead of the 2027 campaign.
The future is certainly bright for the youngster at this moment in time, and only time will be able to tell if Steiner’s prediction for him is correct.
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