Haas had an encouraging Friday at the Formula 1 Chinese GP weekend, with Oliver Bearman securing a spot in SQ3 of Sprint qualifying, finishing in ninth place.
Read more F1: Mekies apologizes to Verstappen after Sprint qualifying: «Much to learn»
Bearman highlighted that the car showed good pace from the start of activities in Shanghai and that the team managed to evolve throughout the day: “We showed very good pace practically from the first lap in FP1, and we were able to build on that and move forward,” the British driver stated.
Despite the positive result, Bearman explained that the session was not simple, as the car’s balance was sensitive, making it difficult to put together a clean lap: “It was a difficult session, the balance was a bit on the edge and it was tricky to put a full lap together, but we managed it in the end and I’m satisfied with ninth place today,” he said.
The young driver was also surprised by the proximity to the leaders, pointing out that the gap seems smaller than in the previous weekend: “I was quite impressed and surprised by the gap to the leaders, as it seems we managed to reduce it a bit compared to last week.” Bearman also stated that he did not expect to be fighting for positions near the top 8 before the start of the weekend: “Before this weekend, I didn’t expect to be in the fight for the top 8, because we imagined the four main teams would be far ahead. In the end, that wasn’t exactly the case. It seems that if we do everything right tomorrow, we can score some points,” he concluded.
On the other side of the garage, Esteban Ocon finished 12th and highlighted that the team continues to work on improving the car’s behavior: “We are working hard to get the car to the level we want. It improved from FP1 to Sprint qualifying, but there are still some things we need to investigate to improve for tomorrow,” he stated.
Read more F1: Williams has disappointing Sprint qualifying in China: «Confusing day»
The Frenchman believes there is still potential to be explored: “There is potential, and our understanding of the car is now quite high, so we hope to be able to solve our problems and extract the maximum from it,” he concluded.
Team principal Ayao Komatsu also positively assessed the team’s performance in the first Sprint format weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 season: “It’s the first Sprint of the year and we expected a big challenge, but we have evolved a lot operationally compared to Melbourne. FP1 was reasonable, everything was in a good position, so I was very pleased with the team’s reaction compared to last weekend,” he stated.
According to him, Sprint qualifying was well executed, with good communication between the team and drivers: “It was largely a clean session, with good communication and good execution. We are learning that with these new regulations, small differences in how the drivers drive make a big difference in the result,” he added.
Komatsu also regretted that Ocon missed out on SQ3, despite considering that the Frenchman had the pace to advance. Bearman, on the other hand, received praise for his performance: “It was a shame that Esteban didn’t make it to SQ3, he had the pace for it. Ollie did a very good job getting to SQ3, and we decided to go out on used soft tires to save a new set. Even so, we beat one of the Red Bull Racing cars, so it was an incredible effort from Ollie, and we continue to aim for a top-eight result tomorrow,” he added.
Read more F1: Difficult Friday in China puts Racing Bulls on alert for sprint
