Ollie Bearman had an incredible qualifying at the F1 British GP. However, as he received a 10-place grid penalty after a pit entry crash under red flags in FP3, it unfortunately puts him at the back of the field in P18.
Disappointment after an amazing qualifying performance
At the end of FP3, the rookie crashed into the barriers on pit entry. As this happened under a red flag, Bearman was handed a 10-place grid penalty for a red flag infringement.
Still, the Haas driver delivered an amazing performance in qualifying, making it to Q3, and taking a strong P8. He out-qualified his teammate, Esteban Ocon, as the Frenchman took P15. However, due to Bearman’s penalty he will be lined up P18, behind Ocon who takes P14.
When asked in the print media pen what happened that led to his crash in FP3, the Brit explained:
“I didn’t account for the cold brakes and tyres, so silly error, one that shouldn’t happen at this level. Just a misjudgment from my side, really.”
The rookie continued on to be asked about how he feels after the strong performance in qualifying, in which he candidly expressed his disappointment with his own mistake.
“Mixed, for sure. On one hand, we brought an upgrade this weekend and clearly it’s showing potential because our qualifying pace has not been fantastic recently, and now to be in Q3 on merit is a good feeling. I only did one new set of tyres in Q2 as well, which normally only the top teams do. We actually had a very, very strong qualifying and the car was feeling great, the best it’s ever felt for me. Then of course, I’m really disappointed in myself because I’ve let my team down today.”
Proud of the team
The young Brit takes on Silverstone for the first time as a Formula One driver this weekend. While Bearman is familiar with the track as he raced here in previous categories, it is undoubtable that he aims to deliver for his home crowd.
The 20-year-old was asked if being able to deliver this type of qualifying performance was a relief. Bearman appeared to be beating himself up over his previous mistake and did not find it to be a relief.
However, the rookie was certain to show his support for the team and the progress they have been making.
“It’s not a relief. I’m still angry at myself and very sad, but I’m glad at least that the good thing today was that we have a quick car in qualifying, which hasn’t been the case more recently. I’m really proud of the team for bringing in a successful upgrade.”
Ollie Bearman hoping for a “very quick race car” for Sunday at the F1 British GP
The F1 season has been tough for the Haas team, with plenty of up-and-downs throughout the year. The team has been working relentlessly on delivering a better performance and maximising their potential. Their race pace has been strong.
As the mid-point of the season is coming up, the team has secured 29 points thus far. Bearman grabbed his first points of the season early on in China, where his teammate, Ocon, also took his first points for the team.
Looking at the rest of their season, it has been tough for the young Brit as he has not been able to secure any points since the Bahrain GP.
This means that the hunger to grab points during his home grand prix could be even bigger. Lastly, Bearman received a question regarding his expectation for tomorrow’s Grand Prix, in which he remained hopeful.
“If we have a car that’s P8 in qualifying, it means we have a very quick race car because normally our quali car is not quite as fast as our race car. Hopefully, that stays and we can have a good one tomorrow.”
