Oliver Bearman endured his worst Grand Prix finish to date in the Emilia Romagna GP, as the Haas rookie only achieved 17th place after also qualifying in just P19 at Imola.
No driver officially lapped Imola slower than the 20-year-old last Saturday, as Bearman set a personal-best time of 1:16.918 in Q1. But the Briton also set a 1:16.077 that would have put him in Q2, yet lost the time as Franco Colapinto’s Q1 crash at Imola brought out the red flag.
Bearman seemed to finish his fastest Q1 lap before the session was brought to an early end, and he even moved up the timesheets into P10. However, the FIA denied the Haas driver his spot in Q2 as it argued the red flag came at 16:32.17.6 and he crossed the line at 16:32.20.9.
Haas pitting Bearman on Lap 31 of 63 to put him back onto hard tyres, having just called the Havering native in to fit the mediums on L29, also saw him fail to make much progress in the latter half of the race. Only Sauber gem Gabriel Bortoleto finished behind Bearman at Imola.
Haas remain at ‘threat’ of bouncing returning despite their substantial upgrades at Imola
The Emilia Romagna GP even marks Bearman’s worst Grand Prix finish as a Formula 1 driver so far, even though Haas ran their first major upgrades of 2025 at Imola. They fielded a new floor, diffuser, rear brake ducts and winglets, and lower rear suspension fairings on their car.
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Haas hoped the new floor, in particular, would help to further dial out the bouncing problem which plagues their VF-25 at high speed with a modified front shape and slimmer edges. But The Race reports that Haas are still at ‘threat’ of their ‘big weakness’ of bouncing returning.
It is unlikely to impact Haas at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, given the tight streets of the Principality only produce slow-speed corners. But Bearman and Esteban Ocon may fear Haas’ bouncing issues plaguing them at the Spanish Grand Prix next weekend in Barcelona.
Oliver Bearman will hope Haas fix their bouncing problem before the British Grand Prix
The Spanish GP at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is the next track on the F1 calendar to feature a number of high-speed corners, as well as a 1050m straight. F1 also then heads for the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, which is another high-speed venue.
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Should their bouncing problem return in Spain or Canada, Bearman will hope Haas can find an answer from their data at either Grand Prix to produce another quick fix in time for the British Grand Prix on July 4-6. Bearman will enjoy his first home F1 race in five rounds’ time.
It would be a devastating blow for the London-born driver to struggle on home soil owing to an issue Haas have endured at high speed all season. Haas unveiled a makeshift new floor in Japan back in round three after Ocon and Bearman finished 13th and 14th in Australia at the height of their bouncing issue. They also qualified 19th and 20th in round one in Melbourne.
