Haas soar up F1 standings after Ollie Bearman delivers mega result at Chinese Grand Prix
The Banbury-based TGR Haas F1 Team moved up to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship following an impressive showing at the Chinese Grand Prix.
British driver Oliver Bearman, who came seventh in Australia, went two better in China as he crossed the line in fifth at the Shanghai International Circuit.
After picking up one point with an eighth-placed finish in Saturday’s Sprint, Bearman qualified 10th for Sunday’s race and charged through the field to claim another 10 precious points.
Although Bearman gained two positions immediately when both McLaren drivers could not start due to battery issues, the race certainly wasn’t plain sailing.
Bearman had a scare on lap 1 as he took to the run-off area to avoid the spinning Isack Hadjar, falling down the order as a result.
But the 20-year-old bounced back - thanks to several smart overtakes and the fortunate timing of a safety car - to secure his status as ‘the best of the rest’ behind the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers.
Bearman surged to fifth and spent several laps defending from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen before the world champion was forced to retire.
When asked about his lap 1 excursion, Bearman said: “Yeah, that was very fortunate, I must say! “Isack was on the soft (tyre) and managed to get up my inside at turn 13, and then lost the car right in front of me. I was kind of a deer in the headlights – I had no idea what to do.
“I probably should have gone right, but you’re in survival mode there trying not to crash the car, and we didn’t crash the car, which was great.”
The result in China marked Bearman’s second-best finish in F1, yet he went under the radar due to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli sealing his maiden victory up the road.
Bearman has claimed all 17 of Haas’ points so far and is P5 in the overall Drivers’ standings ahead of the likes of Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
On his recovery and Haas’ position in the standings, Bearman added: “I managed to overtake [several cars] and the car was really quick, so smiley face!
“We couldn’t have asked for more, and I just want to keep pushing like this now.”