23-03-2025
'Amazing Day' For Haas F1 Team in Chinese Grand Prix
Haas F1 Team left China fourth place in the F1 Constructors' Championship.
Ollie Bearman provided much of the entertainment for Haas on Sunday with a sequence of passes on the alternative strategy.
After DQs were announced that affected Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, Haas' Esteban Ocon was promoted to fifth place, and Bearman eighth, giving Haas a haul of 14 points.
There was a grim mood at Haas in Melbourne after a weekend-long absence of performance, particularly in high-speed turns, and boss Ayao Komatsu feared would take time to resolve.
Fast-forward seven days and an outstanding Esteban Ocon put Haas at the front of the midfield pack in Sunday's Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, while Ollie Bearman provided much of the entertainment with a sequence of passes on the alternative strategy.
Ocon started from 11th place but was inch-perfect as he rose to seventh, the highlight a move on Kimi Antonelli in which he dipped a tire onto the grass at high-speed, with Haas also nailing the timing of its one-stop strategy.
Bearman started only 17th but ran a lengthy first stint on the harder tires, taking the punishment early on, before thriving on fresher and softer tires in the second stint. Bearman cleanly carved his way through the pack to classify in 10th place.
Those results became even better post-race following the exclusion of the Ferrari drivers, promoting Ocon into fifth place, and Bearman eighth, giving Haas a haul of 14 points.
'Things were obviously looking difficult just a week ago in Melbourne, but we haven't slept much since then and it's all been worth it as we've discussed everything and where to unlock the performance from the car,' Ocon said. 'We knew there was more performance to be had, obviously we're keen to improve some more, but the signs for now are good. Honestly, it's been an amazing turnaround from the team.
"I'm proud of everyone back in Maranello, Banbury and Kannapolis—everyone's worked hard to find solutions. Well done to them and of course well done to Ollie, to. Double points, for us, is a massive thing.'
Added Bearman: 'I'm super happy with the result—I didn't expect points today. Everything I was doing with the car worked, and that's a nice feeling to just have the groove and then to have some points to show for it. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting a one-stop race today but the tires were lasting much better than they were yesterday, the car was fantastic.'
Team Principal Ayao Komatsu, speaking before the result was revised, was over the moon at the recovery job.
'It's been an amazing day,' Komatsu said. 'We reacted to our change of circumstances very well. Like I said before, the reaction after the Sprint yesterday to change the car set-up, it really worked for qualifying and the race. Communication and execution in the race today was really good. I think it's the best reaction I could have asked for, everyone has just gotten on with the work after Melbourne. I wasn't expecting to score seven points today, if somebody had told me would could have scored one point I'd have been happy. It's an amazing result. I'm looking forward to working together as a team and improving this car.'
