‘Don’t know why everyone’s not doing it’ – Ollie Bearman shares shock tactic which saw him qualify top ten for Japan GP
OLLIE BEARMAN has revealed the stunning tactic he used to score a surprise top-ten qualifying result at the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix.
The Haas rookie, 19, made a shock Q3 appearance after only running at best 15th fastest across the three practice sessions.
https://twitter.com/F1/status/1908468406669742481But the Brit, racing at the circuit for the first time in his F1 career, turned his form around on Saturday to place P10 – his team’s best qualifying result at Suzuka since 2019.
Speaking about his lap, Bearman revealed how using a tactic from “iRacing”, online motorsport races played through video games, had helped him gain vital time at the end of his lap.
He said: “I had a snap in the chicane. I was taking more and more kerb every single lap, and the last lap was a little bit too much.
“Every time I was doing it, I was gaining more and lap time, so I thought, why not take a little more?
“I was going as tight as I could to the wall. I don’t know why not everyone is doing that.”
“I was doing it since FP1. I thought that’s the real iRacing line there.”
Bearman’s team-mate Esteban Ocon had a far less enjoyable session, being eliminated in Q1 and qualifying down in P18 which made the teen’s pace even more impressive.
He added: “It was quite an unexpected result. I was really happy to be in Q2, so you can imagine how happy I was to be in Q3.
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“We were [estimating we would be] on the cut-off, from our predictions prior to the session, to be in Q2.
“So when that lap finished and I think I popped up to eighth at the end of that Q2 lap, and then slowly back down and I just about managed to sneak into Q3, it was great.”
Qualifying was topped by a record lap time from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ahead of McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Charles Leclerc and George Russell came in P4 and P5 respectively.
Rookies Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar qualified P6 and P7 ahead of Lewis Hamilton in P8, with Alex Albon then making up the final driver in the top ten in front of Bearman.
Hadjar told Sky Sports afterwards how he almost crashed after suffering a bizarre injury in a “sensitive area”.
Qualifying and practice were hit with chaos as the sunny and windy conditions led to a number of trackside grass fires which suspended the sessions.
Sunday’s race will see a cold front coming in with a chance of showers which should dampen the grass enough to stop any more fires popping up.
Japanese Grand Prix qualifying results
- Max Verstappen Red Bull
- Lando Norris McLaren
- Oscar Piastri McLaren
- Charles Leclerc Ferrari
- George Russell Mercedes
- Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
- Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls
- Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
- Alex Albon Williams
- Oliver Bearman Haas
- Pierre Gasly Alpine
- Fernando Alonso Aston Martin
- Liam Lawson Racing Bulls
- Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull
- Carlos Sainz Williams *three-place grid penalty
- Nico Hulkenberg Sauber
- Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber
- Esteban Ocon Haas
- Jack Doohan Alpine
- Lance Stroll Aston Martin