Ollie Bearman has explained how the developing battle between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell is giving him extra belief and motivation, with the Haas driver eager to follow his former F2 team mate to front of the Formula 1 field.
Bearman and Antonelli were paired at Prema Racing during the 2024 F2 season, after which the Briton secured a full-time F1 promotion with Haas – via his spectacular stand-in Ferrari showing in Saudi Arabia – and the Italian stepped up with Mercedes.
While Bearman is building up in the midfield, Antonelli immediately slotted into a front-running seat, scoring three podiums and 150 points across his rookie campaign, and starting F1’s new era with four wins from the first five rounds of 2026.
In doing so, Antonelli has taken the fight to more experienced Mercedes team mate Russell – their intra-team rivalry stepping up a gear at the recent Canadian Grand Prix when they went wheel-to-wheel for victory in the Sprint and main race.
Asked for his thoughts on what unfolded in Montreal in an appearance on the Drive To Wynn podcast, Bearman said: “Those two are operating at an incredible level. It was really, really cool to see the battle, how they pushed each other to the absolute limit, but still gave each other respect, which is incredibly important between team mates.
“I really enjoyed watching, and I also enjoyed watching Kimi taking the fight at the front. Of course, I know him very well, he was my team mate in F2, and it’s really, really nice to see. I’m enjoying watching them, and long may it continue.”
Bearman has made a stellar start to his second full-time F1 season with Haas, sitting ninth in the Drivers’ Championship with 18 points from five rounds – including a best result of fifth at the Chinese Grand Prix.
And seeing what the likes of Antonelli and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar can do when given the chance in more competitive machinery is only fuelling the youngster’s confidence for the future.
“It’s also cool to see those guys who are fighting against people who have been in F1 for a long time – they’re very well known and very highly rated as well,” said Bearman, with Hadjar going up against four-time World Champion Max Verstappen.
“I’m not fighting at the front, I’m not in a top-four car, unlike those two, but seeing that they can take the fight to their team mates, and take the fight to the other competitors around them, also gives me a sense of belief for myself.
“I was fighting with them in F2 and F3, and now they’re fighting with the top guys [in F1], so it’s another proof to me that one day I can do it as well.”
Bearman added: “It’s also motivation, because of course it’s great to see the young guys winning, but I’m also one of the young guys and I would really want to be there soon.”
