Formula 1 had a challenging Friday for Haas at the Miami GP. Ollie Bearman secured 13th place on the Sprint grid, while Esteban Ocon was only 18th after SQ1.
Read more F1: Alpine celebrates both cars in Q3
The result highlights the team’s difficulties in intense heat conditions, but also indicates room for improvement for the rest of the weekend. Despite the problems, Haas believes it can still fight for higher positions.
In SQ1, Ocon failed to advance despite improving his time on the second attempt, missing out on SQ2. Bearman, on the other hand, improved throughout the session and advanced with the 13th best time, a position he maintained after his only lap in SQ2 on Medium tires.
Before that, TL1 was extended to 90 minutes, allowing more testing after the break since the Japan GP and technical adjustments introduced for Miami. The duo used all available compounds, with Bearman recording 1:31.091 on Soft tires, against Ocon’s 1:31.635.
Read more F1: Russell is surprised by the progress of McLaren and Ferrari
Bearman highlighted the driving difficulty under the circuit conditions. “It was a tough day, with the heat being a big challenge. We had difficulties pushing the car to the limit and finding a reliable balance, but we made a good step from TL1 to the Sprint Qualifying,” he said.
The team principal, Ayao Komatsu, reinforced the expectation of progress. “We almost maximized everything with Ollie, he was close to SQ3. With Esteban, there was a lock-up in SQ1 that we are analyzing. If we execute well, we can fight for the top 10,” he said.
Read more F1: Audi reacts well and stays close to the SQ3 in Miami
