Bearman: I'm very lucky to be here living my dream

Plucked from relative oblivion, Bearman impressed across three cameo appearances with Ferrari and Haas last year earning a full-time Ferrari-funded drive with customer team - Haas.

Speaking to media ahead of the F1 75 LIVE event in London on Tuesday, Bearman said: "It was July last year I was announced to be in Formula 1 so I have been building up to it for such a long time and I can't wait to get going. It's been such a long winter, I'm just raring to go. I'm training very hard with my new trainer."

Despite his rookie status, Bearman has already accumulated significant track time through Haas’ Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) programme, alongside his competitive outings in 2024.

"I've had a good amount of mileage for a rookie. Lots of TPC but also race weekends as well, which is very different," he explained.

"Race weekends are unique and a different type of pressure to running on track by yourself in TPC, so getting that experience has been really invaluable. Now I'm just excited to get 24 of them and build up and really gain experience," added Bearman.

Asked about his expectations for his first full season, Bearman admitted that while he holds himself to high standards, setting specific targets before pre-season testing would be premature, he claimed: "I'm not sure what they have in terms of expectations towards me, but I am very harsh on myself so I'm sure my ones are good enough I'd say.

"But, no, I haven't got any position-based expectations. Of course, it's impossible to make that statement here before that car's even run on track so we'll wait for that to happen and see where we stand in Australia."

Bearman emphasised his focus on growth and discipline in his rookie campaign, while also recognising the importance of embracing the experience, he said: "My main goals for the season are to learn as much as I can, build up from race to race, have a lot of discipline and work hard. I think the most important thing, which is easily overlooked, is I really want to enjoy it. Living my dream here!

"I'm very lucky to be here. You only get one rookie season, you only get one debut, so I'm hoping to really enjoy it and I think that's a good mindset to have and maximise performance from a personal standpoint," reiterated the British teenager.