Ollie Bearman said Haas delivered ‘a perfect race’ after he secured sixth place in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, describing P6 as the best result the team could achieve on the day.
The 20-year-old arrived in Brazil off the back of his best F1 finish to date, fourth in Mexico City, and extended that momentum in Sao Paulo. Bearman qualified eighth after strong Q1 and Q2 sessions, despite carrying a five-second penalty from a Saturday Sprint collision with Liam Lawson.
Clean racecraft and consistent pace saw him run as high as fourth during the 71-lap race. He ultimately finished the meeting as the lead driver behind the frontrunners, clear of the chasing pack, and secured his fourth straight points finish.
Bearman praised the team for strategy and execution, saying they were very happy with how the weekend played out. He acknowledged a bit of good fortune with some retirements but stressed that overall the package — strategy, pace and a few risked overtakes — made for an excellent race. He added that holding onto the momentum from Mexico with another strong result gives Haas a positive outlook heading into the final three rounds.
The eight points Bearman collected this weekend leave Haas just two points shy of Aston Martin in the Constructors’ standings.
Team-mate Esteban Ocon showed competitive pace as well but was hampered by a pit-lane start and an ill-timed puncture as a Safety Car period was ending. That incident dropped him to 12th, only about two seconds behind Liam Lawson in seventh.
Ocon said he would have been much higher without the puncture, which occurred one lap after Max Verstappen and forced a pit stop as the race restarted, costing roughly 10 seconds. He noted the team finished in close contention with several rivals — Pierre Gasly, Lawson and Nico Hülkenberg — and felt that with a couple more laps they might have made further progress. Ultimately he summed up the weekend as one where pace was there but luck was not on their side.
Overall, the weekend underlined Haas’ recent upward trend: strong qualifying, solid race management and another double-digit points contribution to keep the team in the mix as the season nears its conclusion.