Oliver Bearman has likened the 2026 Formula 1 cars to a ‘video game’ as he slammed the “ridiculous” action at the Australian Grand Prix.
Bearman began F1’s latest era with Haas with a seventh-placed finish after the 58-lap race at the Albert Park Circuit, on Sunday.
That said, while he is proud of the result, he was not so impressed by how the race panned out in terms of driveability of these latest cars.
Speaking about his intense battle with Arvid Lindblad for P7, Bearman outlined the biggest difference between the current generation of F1 cars and the older-spec ground effects machines.
“It took me 10 laps. If you were a bit faster, you had the chance to overtake. Now it’s 1 tenth with the same overtaking delta,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“It took me 30 laps almost to get faster, or 20 laps, you know. And I had a delta that would have taken me 3 laps probably to overtake him last year, so that sucked a little bit.
“But at the start, I was having some good moves, like on Lap 1 and Lap 2. I don’t really know what’s happening, I was just like, I guess I’ll try this boost button, see how it works.
“I was just flying past everyone on the straight, so it was quite funny.”
Oliver Bearman slams F1 regulations: ‘That’s not racing – that’s Formula E’
With the first Grand Prix of the season under his belt, Bearman expanded on his views about the latest generation of cars.
When asked if he felt like he was in the official F1 video game, he agreed saying these cars have “not been the most fun” to drive.
“Yeah, a little bit. It was like I was in F1 and everyone else was in F2,” he replied. “But then of course you have to recharge the battery again, because otherwise you’re dead into the next straight.
“So, it’s a lot of stuff to think about, which is complicated, but the fact that I finished P7 means that I’m happy. Even if the car has not been the most fun to drive this weekend.”
The Briton also doubled down on the comments made by the likes of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
“It’s a bit ridiculous, to be honest, to have that much delta in a button and to lose that much on the next straight,” he said.
“It’s also very non-linear, so what you gain on the straight where you use the boost is a quarter as much as what you lose on the next straight.
“So, unless you basically complete the move at the start of the straight, as in you exit the corner, you complete the move, and then you harvest, harvest, harvest, the next straight they’re going to get you back.
“That’s not racing, that’s Formula E.”
READ MORE – Why Oliver Bearman won’t change F1 approach despite potential jeopardy
Discussion about this post