Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman aim to shine for Haas F1 at the Canadian Grand Prix, celebrating the team’s 200th Formula 1 race.
Oliver Bearman is discovering the Montréal track as a driver, even though he had previously visited Île Notre-Dame in 2024: “This is my second time in Montréal, my first time driving here. I was here last year as a reserve driver, behind the scenes, and I’m looking forward to hitting the track,” said Bearman.
“I’m proud of the team and how far we’ve come. I’ve only been here for ten races, but it’s the youngest team in Formula 1 and it’s reached 200 races. I’m proud to have contributed, even in a small way, to that achievement.”
The Briton admits concern about Sauber’s resurgence: “It was tough for us in Barcelona, and even more so because rivals had good results. Credit to them, we have work to do, and we hope to put in a strong performance.”
Upon arriving in Canada, Bearman spoke of the 2011 Canadian GP as one that left a lasting impression: “I remember that race, the longest in Formula 1 history! Canada always delivers crazy races, I remember Jenson winning with five stops (actually six), it was a wild race.”
Having been a Haas driver since the start of the season and a reserve last year, he puts his personal history with the team into perspective, but is happy to be part of this tribute and milestone.
“I didn’t watch that race! But I remember they finished sixth, with Romain. I’ve spoken with Romain a few times since he came with the team, and it’s special to see how far the team has come, with people who’ve been here since the beginning, like Ayao. It’s great to see that kind of loyalty.”
Ocon hopes Haas 200th F1 race brings lucky break
Esteban Ocon hopes to properly celebrate Haas F1’s 200th Grand Prix, taking place this weekend in Canada. The French driver is pleased to pay tribute to his team by sporting a livery and race suits reminiscent of 2016, the year the American outfit made its debut.
“This is a special race for the whole team, 200 is a great number. We’re thinking about the history with our livery and suits that are a tribute, which is nice, and I hope it will be a good weekend for us,” said Ocon.
“The good thing is that when we’ve had strong pace, we’ve managed to seize opportunities and score good points, like in Monaco. We need to work on consistency and performance on circuits that don’t suit our car.”
“It’s very tight on the grid, everyone is making progress and no team is currently non-threatening. It’s very interesting and we need to be at the top of our game,” added the Frenchman, who is wary of Sauber’s recent run of strong performances after Nico Hülkenberg’s fifth place in Spain.
“I don’t think it was a one-off result. They brought a new package that’s competitive. The midfield is tight, a single part can make the difference and we need to be careful with everyone. If we don’t progress, others will.”
Haas is expected to be more comfortable in Canada: “It should be, yes. We’ve been working on the issues we had in Barcelona, it was good to have a week off to analyze and come back with ideas to improve things. This is a very different track and usually one where we perform better. For this 200th race, I hope it will bring us luck.”
Asked about his memories of Haas’s first race in 2016, the Frenchman recalls Romain Grosjean scoring a great result in Melbourne as the team debuted with a sixth-place finish.
“I remember Romain on the radio saying ‘Welcome to Formula 1, guys,’ it was very impressive for a debut race. We’re wearing those colors, the suits, the livery, we have the names of team members on the front wing and I hope it will bring us luck.”
