Ocon on Haas’ performance lately: “It’s been a really long few months”

Written by Bo Helmus

Bearman is having his best season in F1 so far, but he isn’t satisfied | Credit: Formula One

It’s been a season full of excitement. The new cars aren’t too reliable yet, and that sets the scene for loads of drama. But one driver that has been performing quite steadily, almost invisibly, is having his best season in Formula One so far. 

Oliver Bearman is currently thirteenth in the championship, comfortably ahead of his experienced teammate. He sums up his season: “It’s been a bit long at times, honestly. I was really happy with how we started the season. We had a really competitive car.

“Believe it or not, we were fighting with Red Bull in the first few races.  They were not coming out of the blocks amazingly strongly, but we did a really good job. The first two events were really good. On top of that, we also got over the challenges and nuances of these regulations very efficiently, and we didn’t suffer with any reliability issues or software issues in the first few events, so we scored a lot of points. It was a really good start.”

The Brit scored points in Australia and China, making it a dream start to the season | Credit: Formula One

Missing out on points

Lately, the Brit finishes in eleventh place more often, making him miss the points by only a few seconds. “We haven’t scored points as a team since Canada, which was where we introduced our last upgrade package, and it hasn’t quite brought the performance to the car that our competition has been able to bring. Audi, VCARB and Alpine, we were ahead of them at the start of the year, and now all of those teams have made a good step forward.

“It’s been a really long few months since Canada where, to be honest, I think in terms of execution we’ve been doing a good job. We’ve got the most out of the car, and I’ve got the most out of myself, but when the most is just P14, P13 or P12, it starts to get a bit old. We’re eagerly awaiting the next bit of performance that we have to add to the car, which hopefully will come soon, and hopefully that can make the second half a bit more fruitful.”

Lacking performance

Bearman can’t say if the Haas will perform better in Hungary: “I think it’s track-specific in the sense that we struggle a bit more on power-limited tracks compared to the Mercedes engines and Red Bull Powertrains. Compared to those, we struggle a bit more at a track like Spa, and at Silverstone as well.

Bearman was the quickest Haas in Spa, but still missed out on points | Credit: Formula One

“But that’s not an excuse for us, because Ferrari were incredibly strong at those tracks and we have the same engine. That’s not something we can hide behind. Clearly, we are lacking performance in the whole package. I don’t know what to expect this weekend, if that’s what you’re asking. Let’s wait and see.”

Chasing a moving target

The 21-year-old is currently ahead of his teammate, the experienced Esteban Ocon. Back in 2021, the Frenchman snatched his first (and at the moment, only) win in Hungary. Bearman doesn’t think this will affect the race for him: “It’s a tough situation that is happening at our team. We’ve been speaking about it a lot, but the inconsistency between our parts has been quite high.

“I’ve been on the bad side of that and I’ve also been on the good side of that, but it’s a shame because it means that you’re always chasing a moving target. Overnight, we can have changes to our car balance without expecting that.

The battle between the teammates isn’t fair, as their cars aren’t performing the same | Credit: Formula One

“All of that is to say that it’s not always a fair fight, the one that we are having, and sometimes we feel like we’re fighting with our hands almost tied behind our backs. Of course, I feel like I’m performing at a really high level, and I really see a step in my performances from 12 months ago, even from the start of the season. That’s all I can do.

“At this stage, we’re not in the fight for points. We’re not in the fight to do a whole lot other than try to get the most out of ourselves and learn as much as possible in this difficult period, hoping that soon we’re going to have the performance to put that to work and score points. It’s been a challenge for us. I’m happy with what I’m doing, but the story is not necessarily what you see in the headline.”

It’s frustrating for drivers to have nothing to fight for in races | Credit: Formula One

Summer break

Just one more race, and then the drivers will get a much-needed break. Bearman will keep himself busy: “It’s important to reset, rest and take your mind away from racing. These last few months have been incredibly full-on, and I think to find that motivation to keep pushing, particularly when the results are not necessarily there, it needs to be found by having a bit of a break and having your mind elsewhere.

“I’m excited for a bit of time off and then, of course, focusing in the final week off on what lies ahead. Like I said, we have some upgrades coming after the summer break, so for me it’s more about trying to get myself into a position to get the most out of the car when the performance comes, because realistically we’re not going to be in the fight for points this weekend.”