Ferrari veteran convinced Bearman has F1 title-winning potential

14:01, 11 Jan

byTobia Elia

Ferrari veteran Jock Clear sees Oliver Bearman as a potential future F1 world champion.

"Ollie has got the performance, and he's super intelligent, and with those two attributes, I think there's no reason he can't be a future world champion."

- Jock Clear

The Brit wrapped up his first full Formula 1 season by beating an experienced driver like Esteban Ocon, finishing 2025 with an impressive 41 points and several standout performances — including in Mexico, where he spent much of the race in podium contention.

Speaking to a betting site, Clear believes Bearman has all the qualities needed to challenge for a world title in the future:"It's early days, and I think I said the same of Charles back in 2019, 2018. I don't see any reason why Ollie won't become a world champion at the moment. When you work with some drivers, you very quickly get an idea that they're good, but not a world champion level.

"I haven't seen anything from Ollie, yet that tells me he can't be. He's basically met every challenge, and actually, he's done so against the odds. At pretty much every stage, people have said, 'he's alright, we'll give him a chance, but he's no Max Verstappen'.

Photo: Race Pictures

Clear acknowledged a few youthful mistakes from Bearman early in the season, but also praised his natural driving ability and his capacity to learn quickly.

"Ollie had a horrific start to the year in Melbourne and had a lot to learn. But by mid-season, he demonstrated how well and how quickly he learns. And the good thing is the pace is there. He is damn quick. Esteban Ocon is no slouch, and Ollie has pretty much always been a little nip ahead of Ocon all year.

"Ollie has got the performance, and he's super intelligent, and with those two attributes, I think there's no reason he can't be a future world champion."

Bearman addresses future at Ferrari after standout rookie season

The young British driver has already had a taste of what it means to drive for Ferrari, having stepped in for Carlos Sainz in Jeddah in 2024 and even scoring the first points of his career.

The ultimate goal, however, is clearly to become a full-time Ferrari race driver, after already spending a full season with Haas, which will now be followed by the campaign that is about to get underway.

Here’s what he had to say on the matter.

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