MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Oliver “Ollie” Bearman described his P13 finish at the 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian GP race as a “bit disappointing”, despite gaining two positions. Bearman, who started the race from P15 after outqualifying his veteran teammate Esteban Ocon, opted to follow the more standard tyre strategy. As such, he remained out on track on his medium tyres after the Safety Car was brought out in response to Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda’s Turn 1 crash with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. Ocon, on the other hand, after starting P19, took advantage of the Safety Car to pit for the hard tyres on which he completed 49 of the 50 laps of the race.
Ocon’s strategy ultimately worked in his favour, with the French driver remaining ahead of Bearman after Bearman’s pit stop. Ocon did eventually surrender his position to his rookie teammate in the closing stages of the race. This swap saw Bearman finish the 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian GP race P13, with Ocon, 20 seconds behind in P14.
A few positives despite disappointment in Jeddah
While speaking to the media after the race, Bearman admitted that he was disappointed with the outcome of the race, especially as the VF-25 had seemed to lack the pace to allow Haas to properly compete against their rivals.
“It’s a bit disappointing honestly, just missing the pace to fight for anything meaningful today.”
Despite his disappointment, however, Bearman did acknowledge that the team could take a few positives from their race around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. He stated that the team had been “quite strong” in the race, despite its hight-speed nature.
“But I think that there are a few positives. We were quite strong on this track, and with the amount of high-speed corners her, I was pretty happy with that.”
Bearman “overshot the balance a bit” on the medium compound tyres
While Bearman also praised the team’s management of the hard compound tyres, which ultimately proved vital in helping Ocon make his way up from the back of the pack, he admitted that he had struggled on the medium compound tyres, especially while in the dirty air of Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.
“We knew that the hard tyre could do 60 to 70 laps. It’s not like you’re limited on tyre life for that compound.”
“I feel like we overshot the balance a bit on the medium, and therefore, I was struggling pretty early on with the rear tyres. I was also quite close to Lawson for that entire stint, which [was] not good for my tyre temperature, so we tried to just get into clean air and do something.”
While Bearman claimed to have gained confidence as the race progressed, he stated that the worst part had been the start of the race when his VF-25 had seemed “unrelenting.”
“But actually, as the race went on, I was getting more and more confident. But the worst part for me was the start. The car was very unrelenting.”
Ocon and Bearman were in different races at the end of 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian GP race
When asked about Ocon letting him by, Bearman assured that it had been a normal and appreciated gesture. He explained that the two had been in very different races and had been working toward different outcomes.
“Yeah, it’s normal, you know. We were in different races fighting for different things. I appreciate the gesture.”
Haas have “a lot to analyse” ahead of Miami GP
Despite the rough but intense start to his rookie season, and the disappointment at the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP, Bearman admitted that he was, overall, happy with how things were progressing, despite wanting more.
“Yeah, happy. Happy but wanting more, of course. But that’s how it is sometimes.”
However, with the 2025 F1 Miami GP less than two weeks away, Bearman believes that Haas have “a lot to analyse” as they work towards strengthening their performance in the upcoming races.
“We have a lot to analyse, especially about this weekend heading to Miami.”
