Bearman has established himself as one of the revelations of the start of the season. The driver for Haas sits fifth in the championship with 17 points and highlighted that the VF-26 has an excellent foundation to work from, especially in race pace.
After finishing seventh in Australia and fifth in China, Bearman analyzed the virtues of the chassis and acknowledged that in qualifying they still struggle a bit more. But on Sundays the car responds differently.
What he likes most is the balance he finds in the car. The feeling it gives him allows him to be consistent, and that in a category as competitive as current Formula 1 is kind of basic, but not everyone has it.
The technical comparison with Alpine is inevitable because they are the two teams fighting to lead the midfield. In Shanghai you could see an interesting difference in the engines.
The Alpine, which carries a Mercedes power unit, reaches a slightly higher top speed, while Haas with the Ferrari engine has its strengths in the lower rev range thanks to the smaller turbo. That gives them an advantage coming out of corners but hurts them on the long straights.
Bearman said that in the last ten laps of China he felt Pierre Gasly right behind him with impressive speed, which shows that Alpine found a good feel with the tires in the final part of the stints. If the race had lasted a couple more laps, the story could have been different, so the British driver knows they canāt get comfortable.
On Esteban Oconās side, things were more complicated. The Frenchman started on hard tires and the safety car timing didnāt favor him. Plus a mistake in the pit stop allowed Franco Colapinto to stay ahead of him, and then in the overtaking attempt they touched and Ocon lost the chance to score points.
Ayao Komatsu, the team principal, acknowledged that without that mistake they could have achieved a double points finish, which would have been the cherry on top.
What Bearman values most is that the team has a solid foundation to work on. Theyāre not starting from scratch or trying to reinvent the wheel every weekend. He knows they have to improve in qualifying and that Alpine will fight throughout the year, but the feeling the VF-26 gives him is positive. That for a team that historically started well and then faded is an important change in mentality.
For Japan they hope to confirm their good form. Bearman wants to keep adding points and prove that what happened in the first races was no accident. The fight with Alpine is just beginning, and every tenth will count.