Bear the fruits
Ollie Bearman has revealed the stunning tactic he used to score a surprise top-ten qualifying result at the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix.
The Haas rookie, 19, made a shock Q3 appearance after only running at best 15th fastest across the three practice sessions.
But the Brit, racing at the circuit for the first time in his F1 career, turned his form around on Saturday to place P10 – his team’s best qualifying result at Suzuka since 2019.
Speaking about his lap, Bearman revealed how using a tactic from “iRacing”, online motorsport races played through video games, had helped him gain vital time at the end of his lap.
He said: “I had a snap in the chicane. I was taking more and more kerb every single lap, and the last lap was a little bit too much.
“Every time I was doing it, I was gaining more and lap time, so I thought, why not take a little more?
“I was going as tight as I could to the wall. I don’t know why not everyone is doing that.”
How we start today
1 Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2 Lando Norris, McLaren
3 Oscar Piastri, McLaren
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
5 George Russell, Mercedes
6 Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
7 Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
8 Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
9 Alex Albon, Williams
10 Oliver Bearman, Haas