Oliver Bearman finishes tenth in Japan but remains cautious about Haas’ pace, focusing on improving qualifying for better results in future races.
Oliver Bearman earned his second consecutive points finish with a tenth-place result at the Japanese Grand Prix. The Haas F1 driver started from the same position and didn’t hide his satisfaction with bringing home a point for the team on the demanding Suzuka circuit.
“It was full throttle, and I’ll feel it tomorrow! It was different with the low temperatures; the tires performed really well. Even during the formation laps, I told the guys this would be a very different race compared to what we saw in free practice on Saturday, where tire degradation was high and we had to manage it,” Bearman said.
“With the lower temperatures, the tire surface was much cooler, allowing us to push more. As I said, I did 50 laps of qualifying pace, and while it was fun, I’m definitely going to feel it physically tomorrow!”
The British driver quickly realized that tenth place was likely the best he could achieve given the stabilized gaps. “After a few laps, I knew I didn’t have the pace to fight with the cars ahead, and the guys behind didn’t have the pace to overtake me,” he explained.
“My only concern was Tsunoda in a faster car, but it was really hard to overtake, so I didn’t try anything. We didn’t attempt a big undercut because that was our pace. It feels a bit frustrating to be resigned to scoring points this way, but a point is a point. It was a boring race, but it’s alright.”
However, Bearman believes that Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson would have beaten him if they had qualified as well as Alex Albon and Isack Hadjar: “It was tough to overtake, but I didn’t see anyone close behind me. The Racing Bulls and Williams cars would have been quicker if they had qualified ahead of me.”
“I don’t think we’re here on pure merit. I don’t think we have the fifth-fastest car right now, but if we put together a good qualifying lap, it seems we can hold the position. The race pace is good, and I’ll need to focus on delivering more strong qualifying laps!”
Bearman is looking forward to the next two races in this triple-header, especially in Saudi Arabia, where he raced for Ferrari last year as a replacement for Sainz. “I’ll head home for a few days to rest, and then we’ll be off to Bahrain and Jeddah, two tracks I’ve raced on in F1.”
“It’ll be different from the last three races, and that gives me an advantage. I’m really excited to be back in Jeddah for obvious reasons. It’ll be nice to go to Bahrain, a track I’ve raced on, and Jeddah, where I raced in the actual event. I’ll feel less like a rookie there!”
Ocon’s Strategy Falls Short in Japan
Esteban Ocon struggled with his poor qualifying and tried a reversed strategy that ultimately didn’t pay off compared to those starting on medium tires. The French driver is staying positive by looking at the performance of his teammate.
“It didn’t work out, but we had nothing to lose starting from that far back. We were hoping for a safety car, but starting from where we did, it wasn’t the best strategy without one,” said Ocon.
“The important thing is that the team managed to bring improvements that worked on Ollie’s car this weekend. It’s great that he managed to score a point, and now we need to transfer that onto my car to get the performance we saw.”
Ocon will now review the race data, hoping to find settings that will work just as well in Bahrain. “We’ll have more data to analyze. We were on a different strategy, but the gap was still there—about four to five-tenths per lap, which is significant.”
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Bearman Reflects on Japanese F1 GP: ‘No Pace to Fight Ahead’ Bearman Reflects on Japanese F1 GP: ‘No Pace to Fight Ahead’