The Bahrain Grand Prix was a tactical battle with overtaking once again tricky despite the clear pace advantage that certain cars had.
Oscar Piastri drove superbly, leading from start to finish to narrow the gap to McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship.
Norris was penalised for being outside of his grid position after overtaking three cars on the opening lap, but the speed advantage of his McLaren meant that he still managed to earn his fourth podium finish of the season.
The shelf life of each of the three tyre compounds created an intriguing sub-plot to the race.
Ferrari started both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton on the mediums while all of their rivals were on the softer compound.
It paid off in the end as they came home in P4 and P5, although they spent the last stint on the hard tyre, which turned out to be the slowest choice, albeit there wasn’t too much difference between each option in the end.
One team that absolutely nailed their strategy throughout the race was Haas.
Damon Hill was blown away by both of their drivers as they moved into fifth place in the constructors’ championship.
READ MORE: Who is 2025 Haas driver Oliver Bearman? Everything to know
Damon Hill lauds Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon after the Bahrain Grand Prix
It didn’t look like it was going to be a good weekend for Haas after qualifying.
Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman struggled to build on the positive results they had delivered in China and Japan, respectively, on Saturday.
Ocon crashed in Q2, while Bearman started the race in dead last, giving himself a monumental task to try and break into the points.
However, as soon as Bearman made up five places on the opening lap, it looked like Haas were in a much stronger position than many anticipated.
| RANK | CONSTRUCTOR | POINTS |
| 1 | McLaren | 151 |
| 2 | Mercedes | 93 |
| 3 | Red Bull Racing | 71 |
| 4 | Ferrari | 57 |
| 5 | Haas | 20 |
The team pitted Ocon much earlier than many of his rivals, and he demonstrated how powerful the undercut was in Bahrain.
Hill took to Instagram and described Bearman’s performance as a ‘Star drive’ as he managed to finish P10 and score the final point of the race.
Bearman’s father congratulated him on the team radio after the race, but Hill added his praise for Ocon on Instagram as well, stating it was ‘another strong drive’ from the Frenchman.
READ MORE: Haas driver Esteban Ocon’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Oliver Bearman wins battle with Andrea Kimi Antonelli to earn final point in Bahrain
Bearman knows Andrea Kimi Antonelli very well from their time together as Formula 2 teammates with Prema last season.
However, the Italian is expected to comfortably outscore Bearman this season in his Mercedes, but Bearman won their clash on Sunday.
Mercedes three-stopped Antonelli after the timing of the safety car didn’t work out for him, and speaking after the race in his official media session, Bearman said: “I feel good, it was a great race.
Double Points! 🥳🇧🇭
That’s what you call two incredible drivers and a faultless performance from the team 👊#HaasF1 #F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/I0Fh4aEtgU
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) April 13, 2025
“It flew by, and those last 20 laps after the safety car, I was under pressure trying to hold position with the Mercedes behind, and trying to fight ahead as well – so it was a tough one.
“I’m so happy to bring a point home for the team after a really tough qualifying yesterday.
“Of course, it was a bit lucky to get the safety car, but I felt really strong in the first stint, the second stint on the hard was a bit tricky, but we caught the safety car, which was lucky.”
It’s incredibly difficult to decide which rookie has had the strongest start to the 2025 F1 season, but Bearman is certainly in a position to throw his hat into the ring after his first four race weekends of the year.
