Bearman reflects on “a good start” as Haas leads the midfield battle

Written by Mia Wallace

Ollie Bearman voices confidence in Haas’ performance, contributing to what is shaping up to be a fiercely contested midfield battle.

Credit: Formula One

The top four teams may be set in stone, but there is still a lot to play for in terms of who takes the cake amongst the midfielders. Between strong driver pairings, unanticipated speed, and promising strategy, this midfield in particular is looking more competitive than ever before. 

Following the season opener in Melbourne last week, it was the American team of Haas that took the top step. Ollie Bearman, member of last season’s rookie class, finished P7 ahead of the rest of the midfield. While seventh place may seem unrevolutionary upon first glance, finishing right behind the likes of the top four teams is certainly something to be proud of. 

When asked to reflect on Haas’ performance the weekend prior, Bearman was optimistic about the strong start to the team’s season campaign. 

"It was a good start to the year, exactly what we wanted really. Qualifying was a bit disappointing – we didn’t quite maximise everything and there were a few teams that were simply quicker, that we probably didn’t expect in Qualifying, but the race was good." He said.

"We pretty much achieved what we needed to, we beat our competition – we were obviously not in the same race at all as the top four teams, and they seem to be at this stage in a different league than the rest of us."

The Haas team had a rather unremarkable qualifying session in Australia, with Bearman and his teammate Esteban Ocon lining up on the grid twelfth and thirteenth, respectively. 

In the early stages of the race weekend, it appeared that the pace of the Haas was not quite at that of their competitors, as the Racing Bulls pair led the midfield in qualifying in P8 and P9. Directly after them, the Audi duo finished the first qualifying session of the season in tenth and eleventh. Sitting at the back of the midfield, it was speculated that the Haas lacked one-lap pace. 

Despite a lacklustre qualifying, Sunday revealed the true pace of the Haas. Bearman commented on this revelation, emphasising the importance of pace across multiple laps. 

"We didn’t expect to have that race pace that we had and I think we looked to be the best of the race on Sunday," he said.

"But in Qualifying that was clearly not the case – we were behind Audi, we were behind [Racing Bulls], so we need to see how that develops. Do we have a car that just lends itself a bit more to racing? We don’t know."

With only one practice session this weekend, it will be even trickier for Haas to answer that question. The team will have to lean more into single-lap pace, as they push their cars to the limit for two qualifying sessions. 

On the other side of the media pen, Bearman’s teammate echoed the positive sentiment towards the team’s efforts in Australia. Ocon seemed dually satisfied with the car’s performance, as well as the team structure overall. 

"I think it has been a strong start to the season for the team," he said. 

"We seem to be performing well as a team in the race. Of course, only one practice so we need to make the most out of it. It was a solid start."

While grid position is often critical to shaping a race weekend, Haas may once again prove that consistency across multiple laps outweighs the one-lap speed of qualifying. If the team can replicate the race performance they showed last weekend, they will continue to be a huge threat to the other midfield teams early-on.