Martin Brundle was left stunned watching qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix by the struggles one Formula 1 driver endured following their ‘extraordinary’ recent efforts.
Sakhir saw a plethora of drivers have disappointing days in qualifying on Saturday night with Williams, Racing Bulls, Sauber, Aston Martin and Haas all having one driver bow out in Q1. A slender margin of only 0.042 seconds was the difference between Q1 and Q2 for Alex Albon.
Nico Hulkenberg of Sauber denied Albon a place in Q2 as the London-born Thai headed off Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll and Oliver Bearman in the bottom five. It marks the second race in a row Aston Martin lost a car early with Stroll’s Q1 exit in Japan last week
Oliver Bearman stuns Martin Brundle with Haas rookie’s Bahrain GP qualifying ‘shocker’
But it was not Stroll’s struggles that stunned Brundle during qualifying for the Bahrain GP as the 26-year-old came home in 19th place. Stroll avoided being the slowest driver at back-to-back races with Bearman propping up the field in P20, 0.090s off the Aston Martin ace’s lap.
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Bearman could only manage a 1:32.373 after fighting for control of his Haas throughout the 19-year-old’s final flying lap in Q1. Brundle spotted how Bearman ‘wrestled’ his VF-25 to try and advance through to Q2 but the rear of his car kept trying to step out under acceleration.
Turn 11 was an especially troublesome corner for the rookie after Bearman put full opposite lock into his steering exiting to try and keep the rear in check. His Q1 exit at the Bahrain GP was far from what Brundle expected given Bearman’s impressive P10 in qualifying in Japan.
Brundle said on Sky Sports F1 (14/04, 17:19): “Bearman starts last. It’s been a shocker of a qualifying for him – from a man who has been popping in some pretty extraordinary laps of recent times.”
Esteban Ocon crashes out of Q2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix fighting his Haas for control
Bearman was not the only Haas driver to have a difficult day in qualifying for the Bahrain GP after Esteban Ocon also failed to see out the entire session. The 28-year-old crashed heavily leaving Turn 3 on his first lap in Q2 as the rear of his VF-25 stepped out under acceleration.
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Ocon tried to manage the slide yet his quick hands to prevent spinning off to the left pitched the Frenchman onto the kerb which unsettled his car. The Evreux native was then helpless to prevent a complete spin, with Ocon going rearwards into the barriers and out of the session.
Haas’ hopes for a strong result in the Bahrain GP are now in relative tatters, and it might not be that much of a surprise if at least one if not both of Bearman and Ocon start from the pit lane. Haas will want to gift their drivers a smoother race set-up after their qualifying plights.
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