Ollie Bearman’s 2025 started with a difficult weekend in Australia, but the 19-year-old Haas driver turned it around for the F1 Chinese GP, leaving with points after an impressive display.
Bearman had a slow start to the weekend but immediately showed more pace than he had around Melbourne. Bearman advanced past his teammate and made it into SQ2 for the Sprint race but struggled to maintain the position in the race, falling to 15th as tyre deg was a big issue.
However, with the feature race Sunday, Bearman saw another opportunity to fight for points. He missed out on Q2 by under a tenth, but pulling off the one-stop in the race, he finished the race in 10th.
Bearman saw himself gain three more points following the double Ferrari disqualification.
The Brit admitted he was ‘super happy’ with the performance he had as he hadn’t expected to find himself in the points.
“Yeah, it was a really good day. Super happy with the result. Did not expect to score points today, but the car was fantastic. Everything I was doing worked, and that’s always a nice feeling. I just had the groove and some points to show for it, which is great.”
Strategy calls
Coming into the Chinese GP race weekend, there were concerns over tyre degradation with many teams looking at a two stop strategy for the race. However, when it came to race day, the tyres held on far longer than drivers expected. With many opting for a one-stop.
Haas was one of the teams that made the early call to attempt the one-stop strategy. Although it was successful for the team, Bearman admitted he didn’t expect the call.
“I was not expecting to do a one-stop. I was quite shocked when we pitted onto a medium, but no, the tyres were lasting much better than they were yesterday, and we did a great job with set-up changes.”
He acknowledged that a reason for their success around Shanghai’s international circuit was due to the characteristics of the car.
“I think this track definitely suits what we have. It’s the type of track that, on paper, is good for our car. Very smooth, not many bumps and stuff like that, which that’s what we’re looking for at the moment.”
‘Ciao’
Beyond strategy and results, Ollie Bearman admitted that he was having fun at the F1 Chinese GP. During the race, he made multiple impressive overtakes on the alternate strategy, coming on the radio to comment ‘ciao’ as he passed rival cars.
The Brit overtook Lawson, Doohan, Sainz and Gasly on his way to P10 on the road, before it became 8th later.
“The car was amazing. I was having a lot of fun today, and it was just a great race.”
When asked about his ‘ciao’ radio message he said, “Yeah, those were some good overtakes, and we were offset on the strategy, so of course I had to overtake some cars, which is difficult for the tyres and everything, but fun for me, and fun for everyone to be watching some overtakes.”
His qualifying performance put him on the backfoot, which he saw as the biggest obstacle to his potential over the weekend. Bearman had looked fast but he did not make the line in time for his final lap in Q1.
“It’s annoying that I qualified in the back because the car was fantastic today, and I think we had potential to do a lot today. I’m very happy to score points, as the man as well. We had a great race as a team, and hopefully, it gives us a bit of momentum for the future.”
However, he looks to Suzuka, which he coined as a ‘driver’s track’ where he hopes to continue the momentum.
“It’s a real driver’s track, really, really fun to drive. So, can’t wait; it can’t come soon enough. And, yeah, I think it could be a good weekend for us again.”
