Oliver Bearman revealed how a particular quirk in the Zandvoort circuit almost cost him dearly on his way to a points finish in Formula 1‘s Dutch Grand Prix.
The Briton started from the pit lane after component changes on his Haas’ Ferrari power unit, but managed to come through to take a brilliant sixth place.
Benefitting from three Safety Car interventions, Bearman calmly navigated his way through the field to head a double-points finish for the American squad.
Bearman managed a 53-lap stint from the start on the same set of tyres, before making his one and only stop under the Safety Car.
But the tricky and notorious Zandvoort layout almost cost Bearman that career-best finish, the gradient changes catching him out immediately upon returning to the circuit.
Speaking to media including Motorsport Week after the race, Bearman revealed he locked up straightaway going into the opening turn, flat-spotting his tyres in the process.
“Yeah, when that Safety Car came out, and I had those fresh tyres, I was very happy, but then I flat-spotted them straight away in Turn 1.
“I was put on the crest, which is kind of an annoying thing about this track, that there’s a crest halfway down the straight, so if you brake on that, what happened to me was my tyre got flat-spotted, so for that last few laps, I was really holding on with a bit of vibrations from that tyre.”
Bearman reveals he was ‘holding on for dear life’
Bearman explained the true nature of his manful stint and how he was “holding on for dear life” towards the end of the race, saying that being part of a DRS train put some considerable strain on his tyres.
“The most difficult thing was restarting those tyres after every Safety Car,” he expanded.
“Because when the track gets thinner, it’s really difficult to retain temperature in those tyres, and I spent the entire stint length in DRS, you know, first it was [Gabriel] Bortoleto, then Esteban [Ocon].
“It’s good to be in the DRS, but also it destroys your tyres, particularly the front, so I was really holding on for dear life at the end, but we worked it out.”
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