Oliver Bearman endured a tough time at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu says Kevin Magnussen would have fared better if he was driving.
The American outfit were forced into a protracted substitution in Brazil last time out as Haas got an early glimpse of 2025. Bearman will race for Haas full-time next season after agreeing to a multi-year contract. But he struggled in the extreme wet conditions at the Sao Paulo GP.
Haas initially only intended to have Bearman contest the F1 Sprint at the Sao Paulo GP when Magnussen was sidelined through illness. But the 19-year-old would pen his third Grand Prix start in Brazil once Magnussen withdrew altogether, meaning Bearman is no longer a rookie.
Oliver Bearman would have had a better Sao Paulo GP driving for Alpine over Haas
Deputising for Carlos Sainz with Ferrari in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix plus Magnussen in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix while the Dane was banned and the Sao Paulo GP means Bearman hit the threshold for starts to no longer be defined as a rookie, so can no longer do rookie tests.
Bearman could do with extra seat time in wet conditions as the Briton failed to deliver in the Sao Paulo GP. After finishing the Sprint in Brazil in P14, the teenager qualified in just 17th for the main race before coming home in P12 following his error-strewn time around Interlagos.
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The extreme rain caused plenty of problems for the Ferrari Driver Academy talent to such an extent that Bearman told Haas “I’m trying not to die” during the Sao Paulo GP, and he “can’t even see in front”. The stewards also penalised Bearman for his crash with Franco Colapinto.
His 10-second time penalty likely cost Bearman, who even made contact with Zhou Guanyu, a chance to score points in Interlagos. But Haas team principal Komatsu feels Bearman likely would have enjoyed a more positive race if he drove for Alpine, who earned a double podium.
“If you’re talking about a baptism of fire, our car is not the easiest in those conditions,” said Komatsu via Formu1a.uno. “So, if he was driving say an Alpine, it would be a different story.
“Ollie made a lot of mistakes. He was inconsistent but he showed potential. Obviously, if Kevin was riding, he would have been more consistent, I’m sure. But you throw someone into the most difficult conditions [they’re bound to make mistakes].
“I had a good chat with Ollie afterwards, and I told him what I needed to say but not in a negative way He has already shown that he is such a fast learner, so he will learn from this.
“And he has already learned from this, even during the race. His consistency has improved and the lap time has been good, as well. So, put him in the same situation if it was next weekend, he would do much better, no doubt about it.”
Oliver Bearman only drove Interlagos on video games before replacing Kevin Magnussen
Alpine’s strategy saw Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly get on the podium for the Sao Paulo GP in P2 and P3. Ocon, who will join Bearman at Haas in 2025, even led the race in Brazil until a red flag for Colapinto’s crash behind the safety car put Max Verstappen in place to get a win.
Bearman had only driven Interlagos on video games before deputing for Magnussen in the 2024 Sao Paulo GP. But the rain that forced qualifying to move to race day and remained in the area throughout the Sunday saw Magnussen regret telling Haas to run Bearman in Brazil.
The conditions became too much for the inexperienced Chelmsford native, but Bearman will have learnt a lot from his troublesome time at the Sao Paulo GP. Komatsu even admits Haas’ car played its part in Bearman’s woes while Alpine’s car dealt with the wet conditions better.
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