“Honestly, I was shitting myself going side by side with Max.” The 19-year-old Brit held off Mercedes and McLaren to finish fourth, equaling the team’s top Formula 1 finish from 2018.
Oliver Bearman has shown solid form in recent races for Haas, but few expected the young Brit to deliver such a standout performance at Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix.
After finishing ninth in Singapore and Austin, Bearman exceeded expectations in Mexico by climbing to fourth place, equaling Haas’ top F1 result, previously set when Romain Grosjean finished fourth at the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix.
Bearman began the race from ninth on the grid, having demonstrated promising single-lap speed over the weekend, and quickly surged to sixth after a clean and clever first lap.
The early laps saw Max Verstappen challenge Lewis Hamilton for third on lap six, triggering intense side-by-side battles. When Verstappen ran wide at Turn 5, he accidentally blocked George Russell, allowing Bearman to slip past both competitors and seize fourth position.
A time penalty for Hamilton during the Verstappen skirmish temporarily elevated Bearman to third during the pit stop sequence. He then faced relentless pressure from Mercedes and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, defending his remarkable position.
Bearman and his challengers opted for a two-stop strategy, enabling the one-stopping Verstappen to retake third. Nevertheless, Bearman held off his rivals through the final stint to secure fourth place.
“I had a good start, slotted myself between the two Mercedes [cars] and actually had good pace,” Bearman said. “Hamilton and Max had a bit of a coming together and I benefited from that too, honestly I was shitting myself going side by side with Max, but it’s really cool to go wheel to wheel with these people that I’ve been watching since I started watching F1 and I had them in my mirrors for a long time, so it was probably the most pressure I‘ve ever had in a race scenario.”
The Haas driver admitted some luck was involved in his early move to fourth, but he emphasized the VF-25’s strong pace throughout the race.
“I’ll take it every time, but we actually had the pace to stay there,” Bearman said. “I had Max behind me the first stint, then I had Kimi [Antonelli], then I had George, then I had Oscar, and they all couldn’t attack me, so we were doing something right today.”
Haas’ impressive weekend was further highlighted by Esteban Ocon, who finished ninth, helping the team score valuable points.
The haul moves Haas to eighth in the Constructors’ Championship, now within 10 points of sixth-placed Racing Bulls, keeping the fight for positions tight.
This exceptional performance cements Haas’ resurgence on the track, blending skill, strategy, and a touch of luck, and sets the tone for the team as the season continues.
