Fan Forum: McLaren, Williams, Cadillac, Audi, Aston Martin, Racing Bulls & Alpine hit the fan stage Ollie Bearman, the Haas driver, expressed surprise at his strong performance during the China Sprint Qualifying, starting from ninth position on the grid for Saturday’s Sprint race. The British driver admitted he hadn’t anticipated being in contention for points, having finished seventh in the single-hour practice session on Friday before advancing to SQ3. Bearman highlighted the team’s consistent pace throughout the session, noting that they had built on their early performance in FP1. “We showed really good pace already from lap one of FP1 and were able to build on that and go forward,” he said. Despite the challenges of balancing the car, Bearman was satisfied with his P9 finish. Bearman acknowledged the difficulty of the session, describing the balance as “a bit on edge” but praised the team’s progress. He emphasized that the gap to the leaders was unexpected, especially after finishing seventh in Australia last weekend. “We seem to have closed it a little bit compared to last week,” he noted, adding that the Red Bull of Max Verstappen would be directly ahead of him. Bearman expressed confidence that if the team maximizes their performance on Saturday, they could secure points in the Sprint, which rewards the top eight finishers. He also hinted that the race on Sunday would be where the real competition begins. Haas teammate Esteban Ocon, however, was less pleased with his performance, finishing 12th in SQ3. Ocon admitted the car’s performance had not met expectations, stating, “We can’t be pleased with that.” He acknowledged improvements from FP1 to the qualifying session but emphasized that there were still unresolved issues.#ollie_bearman #esteban_ocon #haas #f1 #china_sprint_qualifying
