Oliver Bearman became the first British driver to start an F1 race for Ferrari in the 21st century at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The 18-year-old stepped in for Carlos Sainz after he withdrew from the weekend due to appendicitis so, as Ferrari’s reserve driver, Bearman received the opportunity.
Bearman impressed as well, as he finished seventh on his F1 debut at Jeddah Corniche Circuit making him the first Briton since Eddie Irvine in 1999 to drive for Ferrari.
He is now one of 11 British drivers to have started a grand prix for the famous Italian marque, so who are the rest?
Mike Hawthorn (1953-55, 1957-58)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
45 |
35 |
|
F1 world championships |
1 (1958) |
1 (1958) |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
3 |
3 |
|
Pole positions |
4 |
4 |
|
Podiums |
18 |
16 |
Mike Hawthorn was the first British driver to start a grand prix for Ferrari having made his debut with the team at the 1953 Argentine GP. The Yorkshireman finished fourth that day, yet it was only three races later that Hawthorn claimed his maiden victory at the 1953 French GP.
Hawthorn raced for Ferrari in all but two of his seven F1 seasons, which includes winning the 1958 championship which makes him just one of two Britons to have sealed the drivers’ crown with the team in red.
He then retired following his championship victory but six weeks after announcing retirement, Hawthorn sadly died on a wet day in Surrey as he lost control of his Jaguar which caused him to skid sideways into a roadside tree.
Peter Collins (1956-58)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
32 |
20 |
|
F1 world championships |
0 |
0 |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
3 |
3 |
|
Pole positions |
0 |
0 |
|
Podiums |
9 |
9 |
Peter Collins served as Hawthorn’s team-mate in 1958 having joined Ferrari two years prior for his fifth season of grand prix racing. Collins had a strong opening campaign with two race victories, while more podiums followed in 1957 ahead of his final grand prix win the following year at Silverstone.
That would be Collins’ final win though, as at the next race the Kidderminster driver was killed at the Nurburgring. Collins was pushing to overtake Tony Brooks on lap 11 until he went wide in the Pflanzgarten section, which caused the Ferrari driver to crash into a ditch and fly into a tree before dying later that day.
Cliff Allison (1959-60)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
16 |
6 |
|
F1 world championships |
0 |
0 |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
0 |
0 |
|
Pole positions |
0 |
0 |
|
Podiums |
1 |
1 |
Cliff Allison joined Ferrari for his sophomore year in F1 after driving the 1958 season with Lotus. Allison had an underwhelming opening campaign as he scored just two points for Ferrari, but he began 1960 strong with his only F1 podium.
At the following race, the 1960 Monaco GP, Allison’s Ferrari career was cut abruptly short after a crash in qualifying flung him from his cockpit causing severe injuries. He missed the rest of the 1960 season before returning in a privateer Lotus for 1961.
Tony Brooks (1959)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
38 |
7 |
|
F1 world championships |
0 |
0 |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
6 |
2 |
|
Pole positions |
3 |
2 |
|
Podiums |
10 |
4 |
Tony Brooks’ Ferrari career was also a short one as the Cheshire-born driver only competed for the team in 1959.
Brooks joined Ferrari as an already established name after winning four grands prix in two years for Vanwall. This made him one of the favourites for the 1959 crown but reliability problems hindered his championship hopes, as he ultimately finished second - just four points behind Jack Brabham - despite two victories. Brooks also had to drive the British GP for Vanwall because Ferrari workers were striking due to labour disputes in Italy.
John Surtees (1963-66)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
111 |
30 |
|
F1 world championships |
1 (1964) |
1 (1964) |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
6 |
4 |
|
Pole positions |
8 |
4 |
|
Podiums |
24 |
13 |
John Surtees spent his early career becoming a motorcycle legend as he won four 500cc championships before moving to F1. He ultimately became a legend on four-wheels as well, where Surrey-born Surtees spent much of his F1 career at Ferrari.
Surtees joined the Scuderia in 1963 before dramatically clinching the championship the following year, despite entering the Mexico season-finale five points behind Graham Hill.
It happened after Hill’s chances were suddenly diminished when his car got hit by Lorenzo Bandini, which made Jim Clark the championship favourite as he was leading the race with Surtees a distant fifth. But, Clark’s engine failed on the penultimate lap which handed the title to Surtees, who became the second Briton to win an F1 drivers’ championship for Ferrari.
Mike Parkes (1966-67)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
6 |
6 |
|
F1 world championships |
0 |
0 |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
0 |
0 |
|
Pole positions |
1 |
1 |
|
Podiums |
2 |
2 |
Mike Parkes had a very short stint in F1 as his career was mostly spent racing sportscars for Ferrari.
All of Parkes’ F1 starts came with the Scuderia, as his first opportunity was the 1966 French GP replacing the recently-departed Surtees. It was one of four grand prix starts for Parkes that season where he scored two podiums, ahead of driving two more races for Ferrari in 1967 before returning to sportscar racing at the end of the year.
Jonathan Williams (1967)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
1 |
1 |
|
F1 world championships |
0 |
0 |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
0 |
0 |
|
Pole positions |
0 |
0 |
|
Podiums |
0 |
0 |
Jonathan Williams also made his name in sportscar racing, so he only ever started one grand prix which was the 1967 Mexican GP. It happened because Ferrari’s Bandini had died following a crash in Monaco, while Williams’ team-mate on the sportscar programme Gunter Klass was killed at Mugello - so the drive eventually went to the Briton.
Williams qualified in 16th but finished the race as Ferrari’s highest-placed driver in eighth - although he was classified two laps down. Williams soon returned to sportscars where he drove a Porsche at the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours, while competing in F2 events alongside.
Derek Bell (1968)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
9 |
2 |
|
F1 world championships |
0 |
0 |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
0 |
0 |
|
Pole positions |
0 |
0 |
|
Podiums |
0 |
0 |
The sportscar legend, who won the Le Mans 24 Hours five times, endured an on-and-off stint in F1 with just nine starts across six seasons. Bell received his first F1 opportunity in 1968 after impressing in F2 that year where he scored two podiums, including one for Ferrari.
So, the Scuderia ran him in the 1968 Italian and United States GPs yet both ended in retirement due to mechanical failures. Bell only drove two grands prix for Ferrari, as his other starts came for McLaren, Brabham, Surtees and Tecno in the subsequent years.
Nigel Mansell (1989-90)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
187 |
31 |
|
F1 world championships |
1 (1992) |
0 |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
31 |
3 |
|
Pole positions |
32 |
3 |
|
Podiums |
59 |
11 |
Nigel Mansell is one of Britain’s most successful racing drivers, yet it did not quite work out for the F1 legend at Ferrari. He joined for his 10th F1 season in 1989, but McLaren’s pace proved too strong as Mansell could only muster two victories that year.
Reigning world champion Alain Prost then joined Ferrari for 1990 and finished 34 points above Mansell, who endured an incredibly frustrating season with nine retirements. Midway through Mansell announced it would be his final F1 campaign, but his decision then changed as Williams convinced him to join for 1991 before clinching the 1992 crown.
Eddie Irvine (1996-99)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
145 |
65 |
|
F1 world championships |
0 |
0 |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
4 |
4 |
|
Pole positions |
0 |
0 |
|
Podiums |
26 |
23 |
Irvine joined a new-look Ferrari team for 1996 as he was signed alongside reigning world champion Michael Schumacher, so his role was pretty black-and-white: support Schumacher in his title winning ambitions.
The Northern Irishman had a difficult start finishing 10th in 1996, but Irvine subsequently improved with 13 podiums across the following two years. In 1999 Irvine then delivered what is needed from a number two driver, as he fought for the championship while Schumacher missed seven grands prix after breaking his leg at Silverstone. But, third for Irvine in the Japan season-finale gave the title to race winner Mika Hakkinen - although Ferrari did clinch its first constructors’ championship in 16 years - as the Scuderia driver then joined Jaguar for 2000.
Oliver Bearman (2024)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
1 |
1 |
|
F1 world championships |
0 |
0 |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
0 |
0 |
|
Pole positions |
0 |
0 |
|
Podiums |
0 |
0 |
Bearman’s F1 opportunity came as a big shock as it was announced just a few hours before final practice, a day after he had qualified on pole for F2’s feature race. Following such limited time in the cockpit, Bearman did a commendable job as the Essex-born driver was less than one tenth of a second off Q3, before moving up four places from 11th to finish the race in seventh above fellow Britons Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton (2025 – TBC)
|
|
Career |
At Ferrari |
|
Race starts |
334 |
N/A |
|
F1 world championships |
7 (2008, 2014-15, 2017-20) |
N/A |
|
World championship grand prix wins |
103 |
N/A |
|
Pole positions |
104 |
N/A |
|
Podiums |
197 |
N/A |
Hamilton should become the 12th Briton to start an F1 grand prix for Ferrari when he joins the team in 2025. The seven-time world champion’s decision to leave Mercedes, who he joined in 2013, for the Scuderia is arguably one of the biggest driver transfers in F1 history and it is all part of Hamilton’s hunt for a record-breaking eighth title.
But, to be put in title contention, Ferrari needs to significantly improve as current world champions Red Bull have won 23 of the past 24 grands prix. However, with regulation changes coming in 2026, perhaps Ferrari’s chance will arrive then when Hamilton will be 41-years-old.
