Ollie Bearman delivered a strong performance at the F1 2026 Chinese GP. The British driver secured a P5 finish after being set to start tenth on the grid.
Bearman’s F1 2026 Chinese GP weekend has been marked by strong performance throughout. From Qualifying P9 for the Sprint, securing a point after gaining one position in the Sprint, to Qualifying P10 for the Grand Prix and finishing P5, the Haas driver has performed exceptionally.
Bearman lucky to avoid “monster shunt” at 2026 F1 Chinese GP
The start of the race was hectic, and Bearman ended up in a battle with Isack Hadjar early on as they were tackling turn 12 before the back straight. The Brit had to react quickly to avoid a crash as the cars made contact, sending Hadjar spinning before the back straight. Speaking about the incident in the print media pen, Bearman explained:
“I was so lucky to be honest to avoid that. I’m lucky to be standing here, honestly, that would have been a monster shunt. It was a really tricky corner, that whole race, with the wind of today it was just all over the place, the car balance, I think for everyone, well I hope for everyone because it was tough for me.
“I saw with Isack, we were pushing hard, it felt like the corner was done, and the next thing I know he’s sideways and then I’m trying to avoid him in one tenth of a second. I went left, I had to go off track to avoid him, and I ended up back in last again. So both of my races this year, Australia and China, I’ve ended up pretty much last after lap one, but we’re getting there, and the race was fantastic after that.”
Strong pace and battles ahead
After the incident, Bearman fought his way through the field and got his elbows out to defend his position well against Gasly and Verstappen. Talking through his race, the Haas F1 driver said:
“Yeah, I made some overtakes on track. I was quicker than the RBs, and I was quicker than the Audi at that stage. That was strong, and the car felt great. Then we picked up a great safety car timing, but I think with the bad luck on Lap 1, that was cancelled out by the great timing of the safety car. Pretty much I was back where I started after all of that. I was right behind Pierre [Gasly], which is where I was halfway through Lap 1 before all of the mess. So that was great, and then the pace was really strong after that. I was able to clear the traffic and then, honestly, I was doing like 40 quali laps, which was good fun.”
While the battle for 1-2 was quickly clear to be between the Mercedes, the rest of the field had plenty of battles for the points. One of the most notable fights was between Ferrari teammates, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. The two drivers went hard in wheel-to-wheel action for most of the 56 laps.
When asked if he was keeping an eye on the Ferrari battle ahead, the Haas driver stated:
“Yeah I saw! I saw that they were side by side a lot. Even with Russell as well, they were fighting a lot. I was keeping a little eye on it, but they were much, much quicker. I would have had to hope for a miracle, but P5 is a fantastic result for us today.”
Bearman deems Haas to have a great baseline as the work continues
While both Bearman and teammate Esteban Ocon looked good at the 2026 Chinese GP, the Brit came out on top. With his consistency, good approach, and well-timed overtakes, he gathered points in both races.
Asked if he found it surprising how quick the car was, especially in the race trim, Bearman stated:
“I think we were quicker in the race trim at the moment. It seems to be the case. Qualifying has been a bit more challenging. I would say that Pierre [Gasly] has been incredibly fast this weekend. Even on the race, the last ten laps, he was coming at me incredibly quickly. There’s still a lot of work to do before the next race. We need to optimise a few things, but I’m really happy with the balance of the car, the feeling of the car. So it’s a great baseline. We need to keep working on it.”
As Bearman noted, the Alpines have had a strong pace this weekend. With both Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto securing points for the team, the battle of the midfield was intense. While Haas has performed well, Bearman still says there is more work to be done. The next race will be held at the legendary Suzuka Circuit, where he hopes to maintain his strong momentum.
