Achieving his Formula 1 career-best result, Ollie Bearman held off experienced drivers in his climb to P4 in the F1 Mexico City GP. Having started the race in P9 due to Sainz’s penalty, the Briton fended off Oscar Piastri right until the checkered flag. This show of skill earned Haas a place in P8 in the Constructors’ Championship and Bearman P13 in the Drivers’ Championship, overtaking teammate Esteban Ocon, currently P16 on 30 points, VCARB’s Liam Lawson (P15), and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (P14), with whom he is tied on 32 points. Despite struggling to find his footing in his maiden season, the 20-year-old has kept up by bettering himself and earning valuable experience.
A first podium just out of reach
As racing took a turn at the F1 Mexico City GP, Oliver Bearman was as close as ever to a debut podium finish. While he failed to achieve this, the Haas driver did manage to hold off the relentless attacks from Oscar Piastri, showing great defensive skills.
In a post-race print media session, the Briton discussed his feelings on missing out on the P3. Amidst talks of a potential podium around the paddock and commentary boxes, Bearman revealed the second pit stop was the better choice, despite the outcome.
“Yeah, yeah. I mean, at points, on that medium, I was, from what we understood, bringing that tyre til the end until I got called to box. I need to look back at exactly what happened. But I think in our position, it would have been a little bit risky, trying to stay out and go for the podium. And potentially finish sixth or seventh.
“I think we did the right choice by consolidating. Even if it, maybe, stopped us from having the chance of a podium. But, you know, we finished fourth still, it’s not bad.”
Bearman later discussed Haas’ decision behind the second pitstop. With pressure from all sides, Haas decided to pit car #87 in a pit stop frenzy. However, this strategic choice paid off. While he admitted he was confused by the sudden call to the garage, Bearman saw the risk of staying out to great for the potential result:
“Yeah, I mean, I got the call to box very late, and I was super confused. But I’m not going to go against a team order. I need to have a look, but like I said, it seems like we would have been taking a big risk to stay out and try and finish third. And that potentially could have cost us more than fourth. We could have been further back, so I think we did the right job.”
The first couple of laps from the #87 cockpit
Ollie Bearman’s F1 Mexico City GP started off with an incredible first stint on softs. After a great launch, the Briton held on to the front-runners by using his DRS. However, the Haas driver admitted that the Hamilton-Verstappen battle helped him keep that momentum. While the 20-year-old highlighted the pressure that came from wheel-to-wheel racing with race winners and world champions, he admitted his admiration and the privilege of the opportunity.
“Yeah, had a good start. I slotted myself between the two Mercs, I think. And then, actually, in those laps, I had good pace. You know, I was able to stay in DRS. George [Russell] lost DRS to the car ahead. And then Hamilton and Max [Verstappen] 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. 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.”
Nevertheless, when asked about Hamilton’s 10-second penalty, Bearman had no opinion to give: “I didn’t look at it, sorry.”
Haas’ future for the next four races
Bearman’s P4 finish benefitted more than just him and his place in the 2025 F1 Drivers’ Championship standings. Bearman’s F1 Mexico City GP brought home enough points to improve Haas’ standing in the Constructors’ Championship . Reviewing the effort that went into that accomplishment, the 20-year-old was positive:
“Exactly, every single point in the constructors is super valuable. And that can’t be denied. So to jump back up into eighth is great. And we keep our eyes forward for the next four races.”
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez poses a unique challenge for the drivers: the high altitude. While the team made the right choices in terms of strategy, Bearman referenced a bit of luck that helped him. His efforts to keep more experienced drivers at bay paid off:
“Well, definitely it was luck. If I finished lap 5 in P10 like I started, then I probably would have finished 9th or 8th. But luckily, we managed to put the car in the right place. And sometimes that happens, you get lucky, and I’ll take it every time.
“But actually we also had the pace to stay there,” went the Briton on to explain. “I had Max [Verstappen] behind me in the first stint. Then I had Kimi [Antonelli], then I had George [Russell], then I had Oscar [Piastri]. And they all couldn’t attack me. So we were doing something right today. Quality, pace. Honestly, that lap I did in quality yesterday, I would stand by the fact that I’m really, really happy with it.”
Refraining from getting overly confident, the Haas driver confessed to the lack of pace in qualifying: “So our gap to the front is still a bit too big in quality spec. But that has somehow paid dividends in the race. And now we need to understand if we can strike the balance a bit more in favour of qualifying.”
Regaining trust in his abilities
Despite admitting the role of luck, Bearman recognised his 2025 F1 Mexico City GP experience as a learning moment.
“Yeah, it’s cool. And I didn’t expect to be fighting against these top cars this year or this stage of my career. But it gives me a great feeling for the future. And, hopefully, that can be the normal thing instead of one-off.”
After achieving this career-best finish, the Haas driver could be expected to celebrate. Yet, Bearman put the F1 Mexico City GP weekend behind him, choosing to return home for a much-deserved rest: “I’m on the first flight back home and I’ll be straight to bed. Honestly, I’m tired now.”
