Chinese Grand Prix: Race Recap

Ocon started from 11th on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires and made up a spot at the start to run in 10th place, before pitting on lap 11 for White hard tires. Strategy allowed the Frenchman to work his way past Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, before pouncing to pass Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli along the back straight, dipping a wheel onto the grass in the process. Ocon held seventh position and maintained his set of hard tires through to the checkered flag. Due to post-race penalties for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, both drivers rose up the standings, with Ocon collecting 10 points for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team.

Bearman took the start from 17th on the grid on hard tires and made up two spots through the opening phase of the race. Bearman ran a lengthy first stint, gaining positions as rivals pitted, before stopping on lap 26 for medium tires, re-emerging towards the rear of the midfield. The British rookie completed a series of moves across his second stint to work his way back into the top 10 to capture his first point of the season, which subsequently led to P8 after penalties – duly cementing a double points finish for the team. 

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team now holds sixth position in the Constructors’ Championship on 14 points.

At the front McLaren scored a one-two finish, with Oscar Piastri ahead of Lando Norris, while George Russell was third for Mercedes.  

Ollie Bearman:

“It’s been a really good day, I’m super happy with the result – I didn’t expect points today. Everything I was doing with the car worked, and that’s a nice feeling to just have the groove and then to have some points to show for it. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting a one-stop race today but the tires were lasting much better than they were yesterday, the car was fantastic. The team have done a great job to turn things around from the struggles in the Sprint race. Huge credit to them for the job they’ve done today – everything was well executed.”  

Esteban Ocon:

“Things were obviously looking difficult just a week ago in Melbourne, but we haven’t slept much since then and it’s all been worth it as we’ve discussed everything and where to unlock the performance from the car. We knew there was more performance to be had, obviously we’re keen to improve some more, but the signs for now are good. Honestly, it’s been an amazing turnaround from the team. I’m proud of everyone back in Maranello, Banbury and Kannapolis – everyone’s worked hard to find solutions. Well done to them and of course well done to Ollie too – double points, for us, is a massive thing. He was out of position yesterday but he came back with an alternative strategy today as well – he made it work and that’s great to see.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“It’s been an amazing day. We reacted to our change of circumstances very well. Like I said before, the reaction after the Sprint yesterday to change the car set-up, it really worked for qualifying and the race. Communication and execution in the race today was really good. I think it’s the best reaction I could have asked for, everyone has just gotten on with the work after Melbourne. I wasn’t expecting to score seven points today, if somebody had told me would could have scored one point I’d have been happy. It’s an amazing result. I’m looking forward to working together as a team and improving this car.”