Oliver Bearman revealed that Haas ran split strategies despite the driver being ‘adamant’ about starting on Intermediate tyres at the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
Bearman ended the weekend fruitlessly in Sepang after finishing P14. The race was chaotic from the delayed start – caused by pouring rain – to the finish, when the drivers took the chequered flag.
As the track was still wet when the race began, the right call was to start on Intermediate tyres. The drivers who started on slicks quickly slid around the track and struggled with grip. The Haas driver was one of those who started on slicks, but revealed it was not his choice, as he had been ‘adamant’ about starting on intermediates.
“My throttle pedal worked, which was a good start, but I ended up on slicks, and that was the wrong choice,” Bearman said.
“It wasn’t my choice. I was adamant that we start on Inters, and there was a zero percent chance that we would put the slick, but the team decided to put me on the slick at the last minute, which I didn’t know about.
“Obviously, the decision was made to split the cars from strategy. I didn’t agree with it, and in hindsight, I still don’t agree with it. However, if it worked, we would have looked like heroes, so I’m not blaming anyone; it’s just one of those things.”
Ollie Bearman:‘hard done by’ to be ‘given the riskier strategy’
While most of the grid started on intermediates, Bearman was not the only driver put on slicks. With the likes of Ferrari and McLaren also starting on slicks, the gamble did not pay off for many this time around.
Additionally, Bearman expressed that as he began ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon, he should have given the ‘more normal’ strategy.
“However, being the lead car at that point—I was ahead of Esteban [Ocon] – I feel a bit hard done by to be given the riskier strategy, because normally, the lead car should be given the strategy that’s a bit more normal, and the gamble should be taken with the second car.
“I felt like I was the one who took the gamble, and after the first safety car, I didn’t even catch them back up, I ended up 40 seconds behind the midfield.”
A chance to fight for points was lost
The eventful race at Sepang came with frustrations for many of the drivers. With the software issues, the wet start, and the tricky track surface, the chaos was immense.
Bearman continued to explain his frustrations and said the decision to start on the soft tyres ‘totally screwed’ his race. If he had started on intermediates as he wanted, the British driver believes his chances of securing points would have been better.
“I was still super quick, I had great pace on the hard, managed to overtake the Alpine and pull away, and it was just a shame because I felt like that decision to start me on the soft totally screwed my race, I lost so much race time, I couldn’t do anything about it.
“On that side, I’m really sad because the car was quick. I think the conditions played into our hands today with the weather being a bit cooler, but I really feel like that was a chance of points or fighting for points today, because, you know, he was up there, so yeah, it’s a shame.”
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