Haas will face a tough challenge on Sunday at the 2025 F1 Spanish GP after a disappointing Qualifying saw Ollie Bearman finish P15 with teammate Esteban Ocon down in P17. However, the result came as no surprise for the American team, as both drivers had struggled for performance throughout all three Free Practice sessions. With starting position, a strong determinant of the race’s outcome at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Haas will now need to rely on a strong strategy and some luck to maximise their takings from Spain.
Tyre wear a major limitation for Ollie Bearman
While speaking in the print media pen after Saturday’s Qualifying session at the 2025 F1 Spanish GP, Bearman, though disappointed to have missed out on a higher starting position, acknowledged that there was little more that he could have done to improve the outcome of the session. This, he explained, was due to the high levels of tyre degradation which limited the performance of the tyres at very high speeds.
“We were never getting through, honestly,” the 20-year-old said. “I think the best chance was somehow P14 or something, but honestly, with the way the tyres are working around here, it’s one lap and after that, you’re losing too much lap time to even think about the second one.”
“Honestly, the lap I did to be only a few tenths off my best on the new set, on the used set, I was quite happy with it. But of course, nothing to show for it.”
Reflecting on his approach to the session, Bearman stated that he could have benefitted from saving a new set of tyres for Q2, as this could have increased his ability to fight at for a place in Q3.
“But, in hindsight, if I would have saved the set for Q2, I think we would have maybe been fighting to be up there.”
He concluded, “So I’m a bit disappointed.”
Ollie Bearman “had to risk a lot” to get into Q2
Reflecting further on his performance over the 2025 F1 Spanish GP weekend, Bearman acknowledged having had difficulties with his VF-25. He described his machinery as “unpredictable” and noted that he had been struggling “like crazy” especially in the higher-speed parts of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
“I’ve been struggling like crazy in high speed this weekend. The car is being quite a bit unpredictable, especially with the wind here, which is a bit of a factor. It feels like as the fuel loads go down and we pick up speed in high speed, I’ve bee struggling as the weekend has gone on.”
Due to these difficulties, Bearman had to “risk a lot” in the Qualifying session. Bearman secured his way into Q2 by using all of his new tyres. However, he admitted that while it had seemed to be the best approach before the session, with team predicting him out in Q1, in the end, he had potentially cost himself a chance to fight in Q2.
“I had to risk a lot in Quali. A risk that I wasn’t prepared to take in Free Practice but in Quali, it just about paid off. Yeah, we decided to use all of out new tyres in Q1. I think it was the right call, in hindsight, prior to the session, because we were not looking to be in Q2, honestly. But after I did that second lap, I was a bit annoyed, because it was pretty quick for that time of day. So, I think we could have got through in two sets and had a new one for Q2.”
Bearman apologised to Albon after Q2 incident
Unfortunately, Bearman did not enjoy an incident-free session. In the final minutes of Q2 at the 2025 F1 Spanish GP, Bearman got in the way of Williams’ Alexander Albon who had been wrapping up his own Qualifying session.
Reflecting on the incident, Bearman said that he had not meant to be in Albon’s way. Instead, he explained that, though he had been close to the Williams driver, he had wanted to get out of his way before the final two turns of the race to allow Albon a proper start to his next lap. Despite having no ill intentions, however, Bearman stated that he had spoken to Albon after the session and apologised for his part in the matter.
“Yeah, I think [Albon] was a bit close to me in Turn 12. The problem is [that] within four or five seconds, you start to feel a bit of dirty air, which is a shame. Of course, it wasn’t my intention to be in his way. Actually, I was trying to get out of his way for the last two corners because that’s where you need it most, in terms of the aero loads.”
“I obviously had no bad intentions, and I’m really sorry to Alex about that, and I spoke to him as well.”
Bearman hoping for a clean Sunday race
Looking ahead to 2025 F1 Spanish GP race on Sunday, Bearman stated that it could be possible to score some points for Haas, despite their disappointing Qualifying. However, he admitted that making such an improvement would be difficult due to the car’s limitations. Instead, Bearman hopes to have a clear race and take what he can.
“The best circumstances possible, maybe,” Bearman answered when asked if a top-10 finish was in the cards. “But starting from 15th, our long run pace hasn’t been fantastic… but now with the change we made for Quali, the car is feeling a bit better so that’s good.”
“I’ll just try and have a clean one and see what we can take from it.”
Haas can take away “a lot” from Spanish GP weekend
When asked if their performance at the 2025 F1 Spanish GP could serve as a benchmark for the season, particularly after a poor Qualifying, Bearman admitted there were some concerns—especially on his side of the Haas garage.
“I think we exposed a few issues with our car in high speed. It seems like on my side of the garage, I was struggling a bit more in high speed, so that needs to be analysed.”
Reflecting on the previous events of the season, he noted that the VF-25’s poor performance in high-speed corners seemed to have gone against a trend and emphasised the need to understand the causes behind it. With Haas having run an upgraded package at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Bearman believes that the team could learn a lot by analysing their findings from the weekend.
“But yeah, it is a bit of a worry, because actually, in previous events with high-speed corners, we expected to struggle more. I’m thinking back to Suzuka, where we expected to really be in trouble and I was in Q3. It really feels like we have quite a different car in high speed this weekend, relative to the other ones. We need to understand what happened, and of course, this is the first time we’ve run the upgrade on a proper high-speed track.”
“I think there’s a lot we can take away from the weekend,” Bearman summarised.
Balance affected by changes to the front wing
The 2025 F1 Spanish GP saw the FIA impose tougher load tests on front wings as motorsport’s governing body aims to address concerns over the flexibility and performance gains of these wings. The new technical direction comes after stakeholders, including a multitude of teams and drivers themselves, raised concerns throughout the 2024 F1 season, claiming that some teams had been pursuing designs which could reduce drag at high-speed or change the aerodynamic balance of the car.
With the new technical directive coming into effect at the 2025 F1 Spanish GP weekend, there was some expectation that it could shake up the grid order. However, as Bearman noted, the three Free Practice sessions and the 2025 F1 Spanish GP Qualifying showed no real effect on the order. Instead, Bearman said that the new directive had only made balancing the car more difficult. While he believes the directive has pushed development in an unwanted direction, he admitted there is little that can be done about it.
“Not really,” Bearman said when asked whether changes to the front wing had made any discernible difference. “I think, for everyone, it just makes balancing the car a bit more difficult because, you know, between low and high speed, now there is less of a delta imbalance, and it’s in the direction we don’t want, as drivers and as teams.”
“So, I think everyone’s struggling the same amount, and I see the pecking order hasn’t really changed. So, yeah, it’s a little bit more difficult and a bit more tricky, but what can you do?”
Ocon hoping for a good strategy to maximise Sunday’s gains
Bearman’s Haas teammate, Esteban Ocon also spoke about his team’s tricky weekend at the 2025 F1 Spanish GP. Despite finding himself out in Q1, Ocon believes that Haas had been competitive and rued missing out on Q2.
“I think, obviously, it was a bit tricky for us this weekend, but from FP1, it looked that way,” Ocon replied when asked if he had seen some of his VF-25’s maximum potential in Qualifying.
“So, I think we did a step from Practice to Qualifying. I think we’ve improved our package. We were a bit more competitive. It was very close. There was only a tenth in it for me to get into Q2.”
However, though he will start the race near the back if the grid, the Frenchman does not believe that his weekend is over. Instead, he hopes that good strategy and tyre management will help him maximise his and his team’s gains at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
“The weekend is far from over. I think if you get a good strategy, get your tyres to last quite a lot longer than the others, you can come back here in the race. So it’s going to be a long one and we need to obviously maximise that for tomorrow.”
When asked if he could compete for points given his P17 starting position, Ocon replied, “That’s always the aim, obviously we are a bit far from it, but we’ve seen that we started in the back before and managed to do good races. So that’s the only thing that I wish for us.”
Tyre degradation at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya “opens up opportunities”
With high temperatures and higher tyre degradation expected at the 2025 F1 Spanish GP, Haas could potentially make up positions by employing an optimum tyre strategy. When asked about the data that the team had collected across the sessions, Ocon stated that while he hadn’t collected data on the performance of the hard compound tyres, Ryo Hirakawa who drove in FP1 had.
“I didn’t drive because it was Ryo [in] FP1,” Ocon said when asked if he had done laps on the hard compound tyre.
According to Ocon, Hirakawa reported high tyre degradation across all three compounds. While this could be challenge for some, Ocon views it in a positive light, stating that it opened up opportunities that could help Haas make up positions, and potentially compete for points.
“The deg is quite high overall, on all three compounds, so it’s good news, it opens up opportunities.”
Good tyre management will be especially important for Haas given their challenges in the high-speed corners. However, when asked if the team had gone in the right direction with their approach to the weekend Ocon replied, “Yes, I think what we did this weekend went in the right direction. We need to still work on it to improve it, but we went towards what was needed.”
A challenging battle ahead for Haas
With both drivers starting far back on the grid after a disappointing, and with their troubles in the high-speed corners of the punishing Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Haas face a monumental battle ahead of them on Sunday at the 2025 F1 Spanish GP. However, with neither driver writing off the weekend, a remontada could be in the cards if the team can find a strategy that helps them maximise their tyre life and performance.
