On lap 21 of the Japanese Grand Prix, Oliver Bearman was involved in a major accident after the Alpine of Franco Colapinto slowed unexpectedly ahead of him. In an attempt to avoid contact, the Haas driver ran onto the grass on the entry to Spoon, lost control of the car at high speed, and was launched into the barrier. A peak impact of 50g was recorded.
Esteban Ocon secured Haas’ only point in Suzuka, while Bearman was forced to retire from the race.
Bearman: “First of all, I am fine and feeling okay. It was an unpleasant incident, but the main thing is that I am all right. The car is quite damaged, and the team will have a lot of work ahead, so I apologise to them.
The cause was a significant speed differential of around 50 km/h. In these new conditions, it is difficult to react, and there simply was not enough space. Such large performance gaps between cars have not been seen in Formula 1 before.
We now have time to recover and prepare better for the next round in Miami.”
