Oliver Bearman’s first-ever F1 Monaco GP weekend has been far from smooth. He will start Sunday’s race from P20 after receiving a 10-place grid penalty. Haas opted for caution, with Bearman making it clear he didn’t want to reach Q2 by eliminating the wrong driver, especially not his teammate.
The Briton’s weekend took a turn for the worse during Friday’s FP2 session, where he overtook Carlos Sainz‘s Williams at La Rascasse after red flags were displayed following Oscar Piastri‘s crash.
Despite the FIA acknowledging that Bearman’s team informed him of the red flag “a bit late, just before the overtake,” stewards ruled that video evidence showed a red light panel directly in front of Bearman, with his dashboard also displaying the red flag before the manoeuvre.
Speaking in the print media pen about the incident that has left him starting from P20, Bearman said:
“Yeah, I mean, of course, feeling a little bit hard done by, but I don’t want to get too much into the details.”
The 19-year-old’s frustration wasn’t just Monaco-born. A week earlier in Imola, Bearman lost a flying lap after a red flag was brought out by another driver, and his disappointment about it was clearly evident.
“Different things, but same outcome, unfortunately. Yeah, I feel like it was a harsh penalty, honestly, for everything that happened. I felt like there were some mitigating circumstances, namely the huge delta speed and the lack of time I had to react. C’est la vie.”
He added, “For today, the only thing was to make sure I didn’t want to be in Q2 at the expense of the wrong person. If it happened that, you know, it played out and I knocked my teammate out of Q2, that would have been a disaster, so I’m glad we didn’t do that.”
Bearman hopes to capitalise on the mandatory two-stop rule
Despite knowing he’d start from the back, Bearman approached qualifying with caution and respect. He eased off at the end of his lap to avoid interfering with others, prioritising team harmony over personal gain.
“The goal was maybe to be in Q2 and knock out a competitor, but of course I don’t want to knock out an ally,” he said. “The car felt really on rails today and really good.”
The Haas driver remains focused on maximising Sunday’s opportunities. The Monaco GP introduces a mandatory two-stop rule, fundamentally altering strategic possibilities and potentially benefiting those starting from compromised positions.
The Monaco penalty has inadvertently liberated Haas strategically, allowing them to pursue aggressive tactics without conventional grid position constraints. Bearman acknowledged the silver lining in his predicament.
“I think so. I think we can do something crazy and benefit from that. I’m a bit sad because, honestly, I think we could have been fighting for Q3 based on my feeling in Q1 just then. So that makes me a little sad, but what can you do?”
When pressed about what “crazy” might represent for Sunday’s race, Bearman maintained his characteristic dry humour:
“I’ll probably try the two-stop [laughs]. No, I’m not sure. I need to discuss with the guys, but I’ve had a few ideas. Starting from last, we can take the maximum risk to try something. I’m not sure what that will end up being, but let’s see.”
Bearman rues the stewards’ ruling insisting he was being cautious
Bearman also touched on the split-second decision-making that led to his penalty. Defending his actions, he explained the impossible position he faced:
“Ordinarily, yes, you should be in five places rather than ten. I don’t know what the standard penalty is; it’s quite a rare thing. But I feel like we’re in a street track against the walls, and in a split second, I have to decide whether to slow down 120 kph in 60 metres or overtake the guy at a safe speed.”
The young driver’s reasoning centred on safety concerns, believing that attempting to slow dramatically could have created a more dangerous situation. His post-qualifying thoughts revealed frustration with the stewards’ unwillingness to consider the complex circumstances:
“Of course, I didn’t want to lock up and hit him. That would have been an absolute disaster, and I think I would have been in a lot more trouble than I was now. But I think, given the circumstances, I think I could have been dealt with a bit more kindly.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s challenge, Bearman hinted at bold strategies, even joking about clearing both mandatory stops in the opening laps and running a single stint on hards. With Monaco’s new two-stop rule, those starting at the back have room to gamble with the strategic calls.
“Yes, lap one, lap two, lap three, lap 78. The hard will do Imola and Monaco, I think. It’s clearly an option, and I think the goal is to have free air. If I can have free air, the car is really, really fast, so we can try something.”
Despite starting P20, Bearman remained upbeat about Haas’s pace. With Monaco debuting its first-ever mandatory two-stop race, the team will bank on strategy over overtaking to climb the order.
