Formula 1 had a moment of tension at the 2026 Japanese GP with a heavy crash involving Oliver Bearman, which triggered the safety car in Suzuka. The incident happened in the middle of the pit stop phase and changed the strategic landscape of the race.
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The Haas driver lost control while attempting an overtake and ended up hitting the barrier violently. The crash brought immediate concern, especially regarding the Briton’s physical condition after the impact.
The episode occurred on lap 22, when Bearman was trying to overtake Franco Colapinto on the approach to the Spoon curve. With high relative speed compared to his opponent, the driver ended up misjudging the maneuver.
In an attempt to avoid contact, he went off track and through the grass, hitting signage before losing control completely. The car returned to the track in a disordered manner, crossed the runoff area, and collided sideways with the barrier.
Despite the force of the impact, the youngster managed to get out of the car but showed difficulty walking. Visibly in pain in his right ankle, he needed assistance from the marshals and could not put weight on his foot.
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Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu explained the move and highlighted the difficulty of the situation. “He was coming with much higher speed relative to the car in front, so he had to swerve through the grass and ended up crashing. It was scary,” he stated.
Race control immediately deployed the safety car to neutralize the race while debris was removed and the track was cleared. The intervention period coincided with the pit window, which had a direct impact on team strategies.
At that moment, Kimi Antonelli was leading the race for Mercedes, followed by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and George Russell, also for the German team. The restart was authorized on lap 28, after track conditions were normalized.
The incident added another element of unpredictability to the Japanese GP, which had already been marked by intense battles and important strategic decisions throughout the opening laps.
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