Bearman was born in Havering, London, and grew up in Chelmsford, Essex, where he attended King Edward VI Grammar School before leaving aged sixteen to join the Ferrari Driver Academy in Modena. His father is the founder and chief executive of the insurance firm Aventum Group. He chose race number 87 for Formula One — the number he first used in karting.
Bearman began karting competitively in 2013, progressing through the Super 1 National Championships and achieving multiple national and international titles. His most notable karting victories included the Kartmasters British Grand Prix (2017), the IAME International Final, IAME Euro Series, and IAME Winter Cup in 2019 and 2020.
Bearman made his single-seater debut in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship with US Racing, scoring his debut victory at the Hockenheimring alongside two further podiums, and making sporadic appearances in Italian F4 where he also claimed a race win at Vallelunga.
Bearman moved to Van Amersfoort Racing for 2021, competing in both the Italian F4 and ADAC F4 Championships simultaneously. In Italian F4 he was dominant, winning eleven races and taking fifteen podiums over the season to claim the title with 111 points to spare over nearest rival Tim Tramnitz. In the German series, back-to-back victories at the Red Bull Ring and Zandvoort, followed by further wins and podiums through the season, secured the ADAC crown in the Nürburgring finale. He became the first driver to win two successive Formula 4 titles in a single calendar year — Italian and German — a feat that earned him the Autosport BRDC Award nomination and the Henry Surtees Award for most outstanding BRDC rising star performance.
Bearman competed in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2022 with Prema Racing alongside Jak Crawford and Arthur Leclerc. After an incident-laden start in Bahrain and a difficult Imola — where a late-race collision cost him multiple places — Bearman found consistent form from Silverstone onwards. A first feature race podium came at Silverstone, followed by podiums in Austria and Hungary. He claimed his first Formula 3 victory in a wet sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps, then continued to add podiums into the finale at Monza, finishing with a second place in the feature race. Bearman ended the season third in the standings with 132 points and one win — seven points behind champion Victor Martins — despite losing points to avoidable incidents he later acknowledged. He also competed in the GB3 Championship with Fortec Motorsports earlier in 2021, winning a race at Snetterton.
Bearman drove for Prema Racing in Formula 2, partnering Frederik Vesti. After a mixed opening, he claimed a headline win at Baku — capitalising on a multi-car pile-up to inherit the lead and win — becoming the second-youngest race winner in Formula 2 history. The following day he won the feature race too, joining a small group of drivers to complete the sprint-feature double as a rookie. Further wins at Barcelona and Monza gave Bearman four victories for the season, and he ended sixth in the standings with 130 points, helping Prema to second in the teams' championship.
Bearman remained with Prema alongside Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The season was disrupted by his mid-season Formula 1 appearances for Ferrari (Saudi Arabia) and Haas (Azerbaijan, São Paulo). Despite losing rounds to these commitments, he still claimed wins at Austria and Monza, finishing twelfth in the standings with 75 points.
Named as Ferrari reserve driver in January 2024, Bearman made his Formula 1 debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after Carlos Sainz Jr. was withdrawn with appendicitis following qualifying. Starting eleventh, he held off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps to finish seventh and claim points on debut, at eighteen becoming both the youngest-ever Ferrari driver and — at that time — the youngest driver to score points on debut in Formula One. He was voted Driver of the Day by fans and received widespread praise from drivers and team personnel.
Bearman subsequently deputised for a suspended Kevin Magnussen at Haas in Azerbaijan (finishing tenth) and for an ill Magnussen again at the São Paulo Grand Prix. He became the first driver in history to score points for two different teams in his first two race starts.
Bearman joined Haas full-time for 2025 alongside Esteban Ocon. The season was marked by points finishes at China, Japan, Bahrain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Singapore, United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Las Vegas, with a standout fourth place at the Mexico City Grand Prix — the joint-highest finish ever by a Haas driver. He remained at Haas into 2026, finishing fifth at the Chinese Grand Prix early in the season.
Bearman's emergence — dual F4 champion at sixteen, F3 podium finisher, four Formula 2 victories, then a debut seventh for Ferrari on less than two days' notice — represents one of the more remarkable junior-to-senior transitions in recent Formula 1 history. His ability to score points for two different teams in his first two race starts remains unique in the sport.