Ferrari has Lewis Hamilton’s replacement waiting in the wings, with Guenther Steiner warning the team that if another big name comes calling, it could lose Oliver Bearman to a rival outfit.

For now, though, Bearman’s future rests on Hamilton and his plans for the future.

Ferrari risk losing Oliver Bearman as fresh Lewis Hamilton warning emerges

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Ferrari junior driver Bearman made his full-time Formula 1 debut last season in a mixed campaign that was interspersed with points-scoring results at the front and back end of the campaign, as well as glaring errors.

The Briton’s best result of the season was fourth place at the Mexican Grand Prix, while his most “stupid mistake” was a huge pit entrance crash under red flags at the British Grand Prix.

Bearman’s growth has continued this season with the driver scoring points in the opening two rounds, including a P5 at the Chinese Grand Prix, before crashing in Japan while fighting for points and narrowly missing out in Miami in 11th place.

His results, one could argue given the calibre of the car, are better than Hamilton’s.

Although the seven-time world champion has scored in every race this season, he has only once outpaced his teammate Charles Leclerc whereas Bearman has been comfortably ahead of the more experienced Esteban Ocon.

It has former Haas team boss Steiner declaring that the 21-year-old is ready to step up, and that Ferrari had best promote him sooner rather than later or it will risk losing him to a rival team.

How F1 2027 is taking shape

F1 2027 driver line-up: Which drivers are already confirmed for the 2027 grid?

F1 2027 calendar takes shape with Turkish GP return confirmation

“I think Oliver now is ready to go to a team where he can win races or at least go to the podium,” Steiner declared. “He is very young though and we can’t forget that. So, he will need to be patient.

“Maybe Ferrari has said ‘hey, in two years you will be sitting in a Ferrari’, I don’t know, so for that he must stay patient. He will likely have some clauses in his contract with Ferrari that, should an offer come along for one of the leading teams, that he can leave Haas and go there, because that’s his next move.

“He’s had his learning with Haas, he had good results last year with Haas, he will have good results this year, but then you need to move on if you want to go to the podium. If you can do it as a driver, you need to have the machine to do that as well, and now, I think that is not where he is.

“I don’t know exactly what his Ferrari contract says, but obviously it would be good for him if he ends up at Ferrari. And it would be good for Ferrari because they have supported him for a long time, and they could have one of their own in their car – like with Charles Leclerc.

“Charles Leclerc did the first FP1 with Haas with us when I was there. Oliver did the same when I was there. We did the first FP1s. He’s one of their own, so it’s always something to be proud of.

“But I don’t know, it depends on how long Lewis stays around.”

And that, Steiner told casino.org, is a “difficult one”.

“I think he’s doing pretty good this season,” he continued. “But I must say last year was very difficult for him. It was difficult for Ferrari as well. There was a lot of pressure bringing the seven-time world champion in, the GOAT in, and he was not performing.

“This year it seems he has started the season a lot better. But I think the question of how long he stays in F1 depends on how much success he wants to have, because he doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody anymore. He only wants to prove to himself that he can still do it.”

“At some stage he will say he’s had enough of this, but I think when he realizes that he cannot win the 8th world championship in a Ferrari, that is when he will say, “I want to stop” and that’s when a seat will open up for Bearman.”

Bearman is in the final year of his reported two-year deal with Haas while Hamilton is also in his second season with Ferrari. The latter, though, reportedly has an option for 2027, one that only he can exercise.

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: WATCH! Former F1 driver’s 500 hopes hang in balance after horror practice crash