Photo: Race Pictures

Haas F1 Mexico GP success, luck or pace? Bearman answers

17:11, 27 Oct

Updated: 18:15, 27 Oct

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bySamson Ero

Oliver Bearman has credited luck and his pace for his impressive outing at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

“Definitely, it was luck… we also had the pace to stay there.”

- Oliver Bearman

The Haas driver, who qualified for the race in 10th place, surged early into the podium positions before finishing fourth – an impressive outing for the rookie

Reflecting on the race, Bearman attributed his jump up the grid to luck, while also acknowledging that he had the pace to hold off several front-runners at different stages.

“Definitely, it was luck. If I had finished lap five in P10 like I started, then I probably would have finished 9th or 8th. But luckily, we managed to put the car in the right place, and sometimes that happens – you get lucky, and I'll take it every time.”

Oliver Bearman driving at the Mexico City Grand Prix - Photo: Race Pictures

“Actually, we also had the pace to stay there. I had Max [Verstappen] behind me in the first stint, then I had Kimi [Antonelli], then George [Russell], and then Oscar [Piastri], and they all couldn't attack me. So we were doing something right today.”

Speaking further about qualifying and areas for improvement, Bearman continued:

“Qualifying, pace. Honestly, that lap I did in qualifying yesterday – I would stand by it; I'm really, really happy with it. Our gap to the front is still a bit too big in qualifying, but that has somehow paid dividends in the race. Now we need to understand if we can strike a balance a bit more in favour of qualifying for future races.”

Sam Bird: Bearman ready to fight for wins

Earlier, former Mercedes reserve driver Sam Bird lauded Bearman, expressing confidence in the rookie’s ability to fight for race victories in the near future.

The Formula E driver stressed his belief that Bearman would move to a front-running team soon, while also noting that the 20-year-old is a quicker driver than his current teammate Esteban Ocon.

"I give it a year, maybe two years, and he’ll be in a big seat, fighting for wins, fighting for podiums. He’s too good to be… he’s, in my opinion, been much quicker than [Esteban] Ocon a lot of the time, especially in qualifying," Bird explained on the BBC Chequered Flag podcast.