“I’m lucky to be here” – Oliver Bearman avoided “monster shunt” with out-of-control Isack Hadjar

Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar have recounted their frightful near-miss on the first lap of Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix, with the Haas driver counting himself lucky.

The pair was battling for sixth position when Hadjar lost control at high-speed in the Turn 13 curve leading to the lengthy back straight; Bearman narrowly avoided the spinning Red Bull but had to take evasive action deep into the run-off area.

“It was just very instantaneous, the way the car snapped out of me,” the Frenchman tersely related. “I didn’t even have time to have any input on that, the thing just spun out and I was done.” He still scored four points in eighth.

“I was so lucky, to be honest, to avoid that,” a visibly relieved Bearman commented. “I mean, I’m lucky to be standing here.

“Honestly, that would have been a monster shunt. It was a really tricky corner, that whole race, with the wind of today. It was just all over the place, the car balance, I think for everyone – well, I hope for everyone, because it was tough for me.

“And I saw with Isack, you know, we were pushing hard and, to be honest, it felt like the corner was done and the next thing I know, he’s sideways and then, I’m trying to avoid him in one tenth of a second. I went left, I had to go off track to avoid and I ended up back in last again.

“So, both of my races this year, Australia and China, I’ve ended up pretty much last after lap one. But we’re getting there and the race was fantastic after that.”

Bearman’s account was slightly exaggerated there. He was down in 12th at the end of the first lap, with six cars behind him; it took only nine laps for him to fight his way back into the top 10, as he overtook Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson.

Following the safety car intervention, Bearman performed what he described as ‘40 qualifying laps’ to successively pass Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, Arvid Lindblad, Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto on his way to a remarkable fifth-place finish.

“Yeah, I made some overtakes on track,” the Briton added matter-of-factly. “You know, I was quicker than the RBs and I was quicker than the Audi at that stage. That was strong and the car felt great.

“Then, you know, we picked up a great safety car timing. But I think with the bad luck on lap one, that was kind of cancelled out by the great timing of the safety car. Pretty much I was back where I started after all of that, you know, I was right behind Pierre, which is where I was halfway through lap one before all of the mess. So, you know, that was great.

“The pace was really strong after that. I was able to clear the traffic and then, honestly, I was doing like 40 quali laps, which was good fun.”

Bearman’s strong 10-point haul means Haas is up in fourth in the constructors’ championship, ahead of Red Bull and just one point down on McLaren; meanwhile, the 20-year-old is up to fifth in the drivers’ standings, outscored by the Mercedes and Ferrari racers only.

Additional reporting by Stuart Codling

Photos from Chinese GP – Sunday

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