Haas F1's Bearman Overcomes Early Tactics for Point

Bearman’s cautious early approach pays off, overtaking his teammate in the final laps to score.

Oliver Bearman secured a tenth-place point at Baku. Following his seventh-place finish in Jeddah for Ferrari, this result with Haas F1 makes him the first driver to score points in his first two races with two different teams.

“It was a tough race, but to be honest, I was out of the points until the end. We knew something would happen—this is Baku, after all, and it’s good to score a point. However, I lost points in the first stint by being too slow!” Bearman remarked.

He had to give way to Nico Hülkenberg in the first stint and was disappointed to be asked to do so. Nonetheless, he trusted the team and post-race analysis confirmed that he was slower than his teammate.

“I thought it was too early, but sitting in the car, I couldn’t see much. I asked for a lap to try to go faster, but they saw the bigger picture and I agree because I wasn’t fast enough as I was saving my tyres.”

“In FP2, the tyres were fragile, but less so in the race. I took the same approach as in FP2, but with the track evolving, there was less need to be gentle with them. I was quite fast in the second stint, but I was still stuck behind other drivers.”

When asked about the differences he felt between the Ferrari and the Haas, Bearman reveals there are not many. Given the tight gaps currently in Formula 1 and the similar design between the two cars, he didn’t find many surprises.

“The main difference is the colour! They are quite similar to drive, and in qualifying, the margins are tight. There are some differences in the steering wheel and things like that, but it’s not vastly different. I feel confident in the Haas, so I’m very pleased, and this weekend was important to prepare for next year.”

He is pleased to finish the race in good shape: “I feel better than in Saudi Arabia, I don’t need any help standing here! Of course, it depends on the circuit, the corners are slower here, but I was better prepared. Mentally, it’s tougher than at Jeddah because all the corners are close to the walls, especially towards the castle. Overall, it’s fine, I’m just disappointed with my first stint.”

The British driver also explains how he managed to overtake his teammate in the penultimate lap, after passing through the debris from the clash between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez: “There was debris, Lewis was inside, and I took advantage of that, but I’m sorry for him.”

Nico Hülkenberg himself admits he was surprised by Lewis Hamilton and Bearman, who passed him at the corner following the incident, as he thought the race would be neutralised, whereas the flag was green after the accident zone.

“Everything was going quite well, better than expected, I had pace in the race and I was happy with that. But in the last two laps, there were issues, and I was caught off-guard in the accident, thinking it would be a safety car or a red flag, but the flag was green and I lost two places,” laments the German.

He explains that he hit debris and ran over significant pieces: “The entire track was covered, I drove over large debris, I hit something big that I didn’t see because of the car in front of me, but it was a loud noise. The last two laps were quite crazy, but not in my favour.”

Ayao Komatsu, the team director, was all smiles at the finish.

“Just by Ollie’s driving alone, it was a very good job. Yes, he managed the tyres too much at the beginning, but the team should have done better to inform Ollie during the first stint. The pace really hampered his race, but once he realised he was managing too much, he got on top of it and recognized it. I think it’s fantastic to bring home 10th place and a much-needed point for the team. Overall, Ollie indeed had a setback with his crash in FP3 and underperformed in Q2, but on the whole, it’s impressive.”

“As for Nico, his race was solid and it might not be a track he’s comfortable with, but today, he was really strong. He had a good feel for the car and the tyres, he did a much better job during the first stint. During his second stint on the hard tyres, it was incredible, he really managed things well, but it’s a pity that two laps from the finish, he hit the right-side wall and lost a position to Colapinto. As he was recovering from that, the accident happened with the yellow flag. Nico hit something big, I don’t know what, but when he saw the green light, he didn’t react quickly enough, so Hamilton and Ollie passed him.”

“The positive takeaway is that we had the race pace, and even on one of Nico’s worst circuits, he was very competitive. I’m confident that we can fight for points for the rest of the season.”