Fred Vasseur felt Haas prodigy Oliver Bearman could have stood on the Mexican GP podium

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur was full of praise for Haas rookie Oliver Bearman after the 20-year-old delivered a career-best performance at the Mexico City Grand Prix, finishing fourth and narrowly missing out on a maiden podium.

Vasseur, who oversaw Bearman’s development through Ferrari’s academy, admitted after the race that he genuinely thought the British driver might finish inside the top three.

“At one stage, I was thinking about a podium for him,” Vasseur told Motorsports.com. “He did very well. But if you have a look from the beginning of the season, he’s doing well. Quite often, he had a small issue in the weekend, either in quali or in the race, and this weekend he put everything together. He made zero mistakes and he’s paying off. It’s good also for the team to have two cars up in the points. Congratulations to Ayao (Komatsu, Haas team principal) and to Oli.”

While Ferrari secured a podium through Charles Leclerc’s, their race was anything but straightforward. The opening lap saw chaos as both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton went four wide at Turn 1 while battling Lando Norris, who converted his pole to a dominant win. Hamilton recovered to finish P8, while Leclerc ended P2.

Oliver Bearman speaks with Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur at Jeddah Corniche. Source: Getty

Further down the order, Haas F1 enjoyed one of its most successful Sundays. Oliver Bearman’s stunning P4 finish, coupled with Esteban Ocon’s P9, gave the American outfit its fourth double-points result of the season.

For Bearman, the result capped off a breakout rookie campaign. With 32 points to his name, he now sits 13th in the Drivers’ standings, ahead of teammate Ocon at 16th. Among this year’s rookies, only Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar sit higher.

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Oliver Bearman’s Mexico GP run pilots Haas to its pinnacle so far in 2025

Oliver Bearman, Ayao Komatsu, and Esteban Ocon at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Source: Getty

Starting ninth on the grid, Oliver Bearman immediately made his mark with a clean launch, and a bold move into Turn 1 saw him leap to sixth on the opening lap. On lap six, he made a double overtake on George Russell and Max Verstappen, who had gone wide during his battle with Lewis Hamilton.

That move put him third, and when Hamilton pitted to serve his penalty, the rookie briefly ran as high as second. His pit strategy proved solid. Bearman stopped twice - first for mediums on lap 24, then for a final set of softs on lap 48. While Verstappen’s one-stop approach allowed him to reclaim the final spot on the podium, the rookie held off Oscar Piastri in the closing stages.

“It feels great,” Bearman said (via Motorsports.com). “We had a great race. Of course, I was lucky to be where I was before the first stop, but we had the pace to stay there. I held off Max in the first stint, the Mercs in the second, and the McLaren in the third, so I was under a lot of pressure. I spent more time looking in my rearview mirrors than in front, but that’s sometimes how it has to be.”

Oliver Bearman added that fighting at the front was beyond what he expected in his first season:

“I didn’t expect to be racing a McLaren or a Red Bull or a Merc or even fighting with a Ferrari this year. I expected that in future years, but to do it already this year is a very special feeling.”

Esteban Ocon wasn’t far behind. Starting 11th, the Frenchman climbed into the points early, managed his medium tires after a single stop, and held off Gabriel Bortoleto in the closing laps to finish ninth.

The 14-point haul from Mexico equaled their best-ever team result from 2018, featuring Romain Grosjean, and pushed Haas to 62 points overall. It also lifted them to eighth in the Constructors’ standings.

Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar