Oliver Bearman came agonisingly close to delivering Haas their first-ever Formula One podium, holding off fierce pressure to finish fourth in Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix — equalling the team’s best
result in history.
The 20-year-old rookie briefly found himself running in third after a chaotic start, going wheel-to-wheel with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen before eventually settling for fourth behind race winner Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, and Verstappen.
It marked Bearman’s third straight points finish, matching Romain Grosjean’s P4 for Haas at the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix: still the team’s joint-best result.
“Probably the Most Pressure I’ve Ever Had”
“It feels great,” said Bearman, who is in his first full F1 season. “We had a great race and, of course, I was lucky to be where I was before the first stop, but actually we had the pace to stay there.
“I had Max in my mirrors for a long time. It was probably the most pressure I’ve ever had in a race scenario.”
The Ferrari Academy graduate, who joined Haas this season, credited the team’s calm strategy for helping him hang on.
“I got the call to box very late, and I was super confused,” he laughed. “But I’m not going to go against the team order.
“It seems like we would’ve been taking a big risk to stay out and try and finish third, that could’ve cost us more than fourth. I think we did the right job.
“I was looking for Haas’s first podium. That was my goal. But fourth is great as well.”
Confidence Boost for Haas
Despite missing out on the podium, Bearman’s performance delivered a crucial lift to Haas, bumping them up to eighth in the constructors’ standings with four races remaining.
Teammate Esteban Ocon added to the haul with a ninth-place finish, making it a double-points weekend for the American team.
(with agency inputs)
