Oliver Bearman was given a baptism of fire when he joined the Formula 1 grid in 2024, first replacing the injured Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia and then Kevin Magnussen twice at Haas.
The Briton joined Haas right when they were amidst a battle with Alpine for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, which is worth million of dollars in prize money at the end of the season.
Haas was in a much better position compared to 2023 when they finished last in the Constructors’ Championship, owing to a car that would struggle to maintain tyre life. With new team principal Ayao Komatsu, the 2024 season marked an opportunity to improve since their car was much kinder on the tyres.
Bearman replaced Magnussen after he was banned for the Azerbaijan GP after accumulating too many penalty points on his super licence, while he later did the same thing at Brazil due to illness.
However, Bearman’s race in Brazil was difficult with him finishing outside of the points and going off the track twice. Cameras on the Netflix series Drive to Survive picked up the pair having a chat after the race, with Komatsu delivering a scathing response.
Ayao Komatsu delivers scathing verdict to Oliver Bearman after crashing in Brazilian GP
The Brazilian GP was a disjointed weekend for F1 drivers due to the weather, with qualifying on Saturday being cancelled in favour of running it on the morning of the race.
With several drivers crashing out, including Williams incurring millions in crash damage, Haas spied an opportunity to come away with decent points.
In the sodden conditions, Bearman could be heard over team radio saying he was ‘trying not to die’ as drivers struggled with visibility. The Briton skated off the track twice, on one occasion crashing into the barriers and damaging his front wing, which led to an irate Komatsu confronting him after the race.
“Tough one. But going off twice, that’s not good enough. We talked about just keeping it on the track, that’s what you had to do. Don’t get depressed about it, this is just a lesson,” said Komatsu.
The race proved to be pivotal for Haas’ championship fortunes, as Alpine scored a double podium and shot up from ninth to seventh in the standings. They would go on to finish ahead of Haas by the end of the year, who were seventh.
Oliver Bearman ‘disappointed’ after F1 testing in Bahrain
Haas took a different approach to all the other teams in F1 testing at Bahrain, preferring to get used to their new trackside operations having reshuffled a lot of their backroom staff.
One of the changes includes the first female race engineer in F1 assigned to Esteban Ocon, while there have also been changes to the strategy department.
READ MORE: All to know about Haas F1 Team from team principal to Ferrari and Toyota ties
Bearman said he was ‘disappointed’ not to complete any low fuel runs, which makes it difficult to place Haas in the competitive order.
Ocon said he was impressed by Bearman’s technical knowledge since they became teammates this year, in what is set to be one of F1’s interesting storylines this season.
Leave feedback about this