Haas breathes easy in Shanghai with Bearman’s P12 finish, showing speed and control after weeks of struggles and growing pressure.
There’s a big sigh of relief in the Haas F1 garage this weekend. After a tough time in Melbourne, the American team is finally showing signs of life — and more importantly, pace.
At the Chinese Grand Prix’s sprint qualifying session, young driver Oliver Bearman delivered a solid performance, securing 12th place and proving he’s bouncing back from his error-filled weekend in Australia.
“I felt good in the car today,” Bearman said with a smile. “From the very first lap in FP1, I knew this weekend would be different from Melbourne. I was comfortable straight away, which always helps start the weekend on the right foot.”
Still getting to grips with the unique layout of the Shanghai circuit, Bearman admitted there’s more to come. “There are some long, tricky corners here that take a while to learn. But I honestly think we had the pace to reach SQ3 today.”
On the other side of the garage, it was a more frustrating session for Esteban Ocon, who ended up only 18th. The Frenchman suspects setup issues might be behind his lack of pace.
“Of course, it’s disappointing to go out that early,” Ocon admitted. “But there are some positives — Ollie showed the car has potential, and we’re clearly in a better place than we were in Melbourne. As a team, we’ve definitely found more pace. Now I just need to understand what didn’t work on my side.”
For Team Principal Ayao Komatsu, this weekend already feels like a turning point.
“I’m really proud of how the whole team responded after Melbourne — which was, no doubt, a very tough weekend,” he said. “The way everyone pulled together and tackled our problems head-on has been impressive. Our free practice program today was clear, focused, and executed well on both cars. Every lap, we’re learning something.”
Komatsu also praised Bearman for his mature drive. “Ollie had a difficult time in Australia, but today he was clean and composed in both SQ1 and SQ2. A really strong effort. As for Esteban, we’re investigating some possible setup or spec differences on his car. But his feedback was excellent, so we’ll dig into it and move forward. Overall, it’s been a very positive day.”
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Bearman Shines – Haas Finds Hope After Grim Melbourne Bearman Shines – Haas Finds Hope After Grim Melbourne
