Haas did not have Oliver Bearman in the qualifying session of the Spanish Formula 1 GP, after the driver suffered an accident at the end of TL3. Esteban Ocon finished Q2 in 13th, securing the starting position for the team.
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Bearman highlighted that the car was performing well after the changes made overnight and regretted making the mistake just when he had a competitive car: “It’s a shame, because the car was fast,” said the British driver.
According to Bearman, the crash at turn 10 happened on the last lap of the session and was influenced by the conditions at that moment: “It was a combination of the tires being a bit old with a gust of wind that was not in my favor. I shouldn’t have made that mistake, it hurts a lot because the car was strong,” he explained.
Bearman’s car suffered severe damage and Haas was unable to repair it in time for the qualifying session. The team principal, Ayao Komatsu, regretted the accident but highlighted the driver’s contribution throughout the season: “He is a great driver and a great guy, and the reason we are still P7 in the constructors’ championship is because, in some races, he really delivered,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Ocon evaluated his performance positively and advanced to Q2 for the fourth consecutive time. The Frenchman finished 13th and highlighted that the team arrived at the qualifying session with a much better feeling about the car, although still far from the Audis.
“We did a good job reaching P13, it’s a reasonable position to start, just behind our direct competitors,” concluded Komatsu. Ocon will also have a new set of tires compared to the cars ahead of him, a factor that, according to him, could contribute to an eventful race.
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