United States Grand Prix: Sprint / Qualifying Recap

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team drivers Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon started Saturday’s track action in Austin with the 19-lap Sprint race – the fourth of six planned Sprint weekends on the 2025 FIA Formula 1 World Championship schedule. Bearman classified 15th at the checkered flag – a 10-second penalty denying the rookie a points finish, while Ocon logged a DNF (Did Not Finish) – the Frenchman taken out by the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.

The opening lap of the Sprint brought immediate drama as front-runners clashed and collided, the ensuing chaos affording Bearman the chance to leap from P16 to P8. Ocon also gained track position launching from P19 on the grid up to P12. The on-track incidents, and the debris that littered sector one, brought out the Safety Car with racing resuming on lap six.

Bearman successfully maintained P8 – the final points-paying position in the Sprint, through to the last lap but was subsequently awarded a 10-second penalty from the stewards for leaving the track and gaining advantage at Turn 15 – having defended from the attacking Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli in the closing stages. Ocon held station in P12 but with three laps remaining Stroll locked up under braking into Turn 1. Spearing into the rear left of Ocon’s VF-25, the impact resulted in an immediate retirement from the Sprint and forced a second Safety Car period which ran to the checkered.

Saturday afternoon then saw Ocon and Bearman back on track to qualify for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix – with Bearman leading the charge with a top 10 qualifying slot. The British racer, competing at Circuit of The Americas for the first time in his career, made it all the way through to Q3 – eventually claiming P8 on the grid with a fast lap of 1:33.139.

Despite setting a faster lap on a second set of new soft tires in Q1 – a 1:34.136, one that was just two tenths off Bearman’s best to start qualifying, Ocon battled with stability over the lap with his Saturday coming to a premature end as he took the checkered flag in P17.

Ollie Bearman:

“The Sprint was going really well, but with the penalty I’ll have to take a look from the onboard camera as from my point of view, I felt it wasn’t a punishable offense as I was being pushed off the track and holding position. I don’t think I was in the wrong for staying where I was. I’m still a bit miffed but it’s nice to come back with a result like that this afternoon in qualifying. We put the upgrade on the car for Sprint quali yesterday, I didn’t have it in on for practice, so I missed a bit of learning of that, plus I’m learning this track. To squeeze into Q3 and then produce a really good lap – I’m really proud of that. The car feels good, it has some different characteristics to the previous car I’d say, which means I was learning on the go. That’s part of the fun of Formula 1 of course, and the changes we made between yesterday and today have really made a difference.”

Esteban Ocon:

“It was a pretty decent start in the Sprint, and we made up quite a few positions, but not enough to get into point scoring positions. There’s a lot of risks to take in Sprints – and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time – but unfortunately that’s racing. There’s not much to say really about qualifying, we were just too slow. From start to finish, I was struggling with the consistency of the car and how much confidence it gives in the high-speed section. I had to drive with some margin to complete the lap, otherwise the rear is very loose and I’m about to lose it in every corner, that was where the difficulty was. I think it was a little bit better than yesterday, but not enough.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“After a difficult Sprint qualifying yesterday, in the Sprint race today, I think we showed good potential. With the new package, we haven’t had much time to set up the car, but I think the Sprint showed that the foundations are there. We improved the car for qualifying, but it’s still such a fine margin. Esteban was a little bit unhappy with the car on corner entry, he was two tenths off Ollie in Q1, and that was enough to knock him out. On the other side, Ollie managed to scrape through in Q1, and then made amazing steps in Q1, Q2, and also in Q3. To finish P8 and be the top of the midfield pack, that’s an amazing result and a testament to the team for continuing to develop the VF-25. It’s pleasing for all the team, and I’d like to congratulate them. Now need to convert this qualifying position into points.”