After two quiet days of pre-season testing, day three delivered a shocking moment for the Haas team as part of the engine cover detached and fell onto the track.
The incident occurred during the morning session when Ollie Bearman was about ninety minutes into the session. Fortunately, Haas was able to repair the damage and Bearman returned to the track to complete his pre-season testing run. The 19-year-old rookie completed 59 laps throughout the morning session despite the incident.
Ollie Bearman
After the session, the Briton spoke about the incident and how it hampered his performance for the remainder of the session. He also discussed his overall feeling ahead of the Australian GP in two weeks.
“It certainly wasn’t the morning the team and I were hoping for. We had an obvious issue with the car, which was unexpected, so we ran the car a bit differently to finish the morning, which lost us a bit of performance.”
“We still run a lot, though, as every lap is important, and that’s what testing’s all about, so we’ll be fine for Australia. I’m excited to get there and get my season started.”
“The car was feeling really good last night, so I’m feeling confident and comfortable, and we tried a few things that worked.”
“It’s tough to say where we stand, we haven’t done much low-fuel running, but I think the car is performing well – I just don’t want to jinx anything!”
Esteban Ocon
Bearman’s teammate Esteban Ocon took over driving duties for the final afternoon pre-season testing session.
Compared to his teammate, Ocon’s run went by without a hitch. The Frenchman completed his run, raking up 103 laps for the Haas team. His fastest lap, a 1:30.728, saw him finish the session in a solid P8.
At the end of the final day of pre-season testing, Ocon gave his thoughts on a “very busy afternoon” and getting ready for Australia.
“It was a very busy afternoon, probably my busiest ever.
“We got a lot of long running in once again, and a few shorter runs, which was good, so I could get the feel of the car. There’s more performance to come, but it was very good to get into proper conditions, time with other cars on track, and a proper temperature.”
“It’s been a very good test from my side, no issues really and we went through the plan smoothly.”
“I definitely feel one more step ready to get to Australia.”
Ayao Komatsu
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu noted that the incident in the morning session disrupted the team’s run plan for the final day of pre-season testing.
Komatsu also noted that while the tests were not ideal, Haas made do considering the tricky conditions that plagued all teams during testing.
“For the final day of testing, we had planned a short run and a race sim for each driver.”
“Unfortunately, this morning we had an issue with the bodywork, so Ollie’s entire session essentially was compromised which was disappointing. That wasn’t very representative for Ollie’s final preparation.”
“Esteban had a decent afternoon and completed most of the run plan.
“We’ve still got a bit of work to do but we’ve made decent progress, and for the first time today we looked at the car with a slightly lower fuel load.”
“Overall, if I look back at testing, was it perfect – no, but apart from this morning I think we dealt with the conditions pretty well.”
“It’s been cold, and it was raining yesterday, so it’s been tricky to get the best out of it, but apart from this morning – I think we did.”
“It’s been a decent preparation and I’m looking forward to Australia.”
Over the three days of pre-season testing, Haas completed 457 laps of pre-season testing. While the American team did not set the timing sheets on fire, they completed their program without any major incidents other than that of Friday morning.
It remains to be seen where Haas ranks against their competitors at the F1 season opener in Melbourne.
