Oliver Bearman addresses whether he’s ‘ready’ for a top F1 team amid Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari misery

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Lewis Hamilton has made it clear that he isn’t enjoying his debut year at Ferrari, and Oliver Bearman has now addressed whether he feels like he is ready for a move to a top team in Formula 1.

Oliver Bearman has been on the books at Ferrari since he was 16 years old, after he made it through a scouting programme run by the iconic Italian racing outfit.

Fast forward a few years, and Bearman would get his first taste of a Grand Prix at the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car after he was given the nod to replace an appendicitis-stricken Carlos Sainz in Jeddah last season.

The youngster was thoroughly impressive on his debut, where he would go on to record a better result than that of Lewis Hamilton’s maiden voyage in Ferrari colours at the start of the current campaign.

Hamilton’s first season as a driver for the Scuderia has left a lot to be desired so far. The seven-time world champion has even admitted that he is in the midst of his worst season in the sport ever.

• READ MORE: Carlos Sainz shows he’s the classiest driver in F1 with reaction to Lewis Hamilton Ferrari struggles

Oliver Bearman makes it clear that he is ‘ready’ for a drive at a top team in Formula 1

Amid Hamilton’s woes at Ferrari, questions have been raised over his future at the team if he isn’t able to get himself out of his current rut.

With Bearman still bearing some ties to Maranello, he is seen as the natural successor to Hamilton once he decides to call it a day on his career in F1.

His impressive rookie season with Haas has only improved his chances of potentially filling the seat.

Ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, the 20-year-old was asked whether he is ready for a drive in a top team, namely Ferrari, in the pre-event press conference, to which he replied, “Well, you know, I’m in F1, and you have to back yourself.

“So yes, I believe I’m ready, but I have to continue to prove that. It’s not that I had five or six good races that suddenly everything changes.

“But I think it’s also easy to forget that in the middle of the season, I had a run of four or five eleventh places in a row. So that was also consistent, just not quite good enough.

“We’ve gained a bit of car performance since then, so that 11th place turns into a 10th, a ninth, an eighth, and that’s better received by everyone.

“So yeah, I’ve definitely improved, particularly since the summer break. I found a really good rhythm and momentum, and of course, I would say that I’m ready.”

• READ MORE: Ferrari’s future hopes for Oliver Bearman explained after career-best Mexican Grand Prix result

Lewis Hamilton has just two Grands Prix left to save himself from his first podium-less season in Formula 1

Hamilton has made history at Ferrari for all the wrong reasons during his first year at the wheel of Italian machinery.

Upon the conclusion of the Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton broke the undesired Ferrari record of the most races for the Prancing Horse without scoring a top-three finish.

Ferrari’s home race would have been a fitting end to the drought, but alas, he just wasn’t able to get the job done.

As the season approaches a conclusion, with the imminent Qatar Grand Prix serving as the penultimate round of the campaign, the 40-year-old is still without a podium to his name at Ferrari.

If he finishes the season without a podium, it will mark his first year in the sport where he failed to taste champagne in the post-race proceedings, which will arguably sum up his season as a whole.