Haas’ Oliver Bearman endured a frustrating Qualifying session at the 2025 F1 Imola GP as a lap time that could have seen him progress to Q2 was ultimately deleted. Bearman, who had been near the bottom of the timesheets—just ahead of Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, who crashed early and failed to set a time—had produced a final effort that would have placed him tenth.
However, Race Control subsequently deleted that lap, citing a that it had been set after the red flag was shown. The decision prevented Bearman from advancing further and left him facing a back-row start for Sunday’s race.
Bearman labels decision “totally unfair”
Speaking to the written media after the session, Bearman expressed disbelief and frustration over the incident. He insisted that no red flag was visible as he crossed the line to complete his lap.
“We get the red light on our dash,” he explained. “That, for me, did not happen until quite a way after I crossed the line, and, watching the outboard video, it was clear that there was no red flag displayed when I crossed the line so I believe it is totally unfair to have it deleted.”
Criticism of FIA decision-making process
Bearman did not hold back in his criticism of the FIA and Race Control. He argued that they failed to consider the situation from his perspective. This was despite the lengthy delay that followed as the incident was reviewed.
“And I feel like once they make a decision, even if it is wrong, even if it is clearly wrong, they are not going to turn back on it, and that seems a bit harsh.”
“They did have a little bit of time, because they were clearing up the crash as well, so they did look at it. I do not know what took them ten minutes to understand, you know. It is a clear-cut case, in my opinion, and from what I saw, it was extremely clear, but, you know, unfortunately not for them.”
Frustration at predictable outcome and lack of transparency
Although the review process delayed Q2, Bearman revealed that he had not felt frustrated by the wait. Instead, he said he had anticipated the final decision from the outset.
“I was not frustrated. Honestly, I was quite sure about what would happen, because I know how these people work, in a way. And it is a shame. It is a shame because I was quite sure that the second my line was deleted, there was no way I was coming back.”
When asked whether Haas had received any clarification from officials, Bearman said the team remained confused. He added that they were also disappointed by the lack of transparency in the decision-making process.
“No, I think they are perplexed as well,” he said. “And I would like now to fully understand what happened with the team, with the FIA, because, you know, it is one thing being kicked out, but it is another thing being kicked out with no explanation, which is the case at the moment.”
FIA’s responds with timing clarification
The FIA, motorsport’s governing body, later released a statement justifying their stance on the deletion of Bearman’s lap. In their statement, the FIA explained that Bearman crossed the line after the red flag had been shown. They emphasised that they had conducted a thorough examination of the incident and the relevant timing data.
“In relation to the Oliver Bearman situation in Q1, the red flag was set at 16:32.17.6 seconds. Bearman crossed the line at 16:32.20.9 seconds with the abort signal / red flag showing on the start gantry.
“Qualifying 2 was delayed to enable the Stewards to consult the relevant timing experts and examine the underlining data to satisfy themselves that the timing system data was valid and it was therefore right to proceed.
“The overriding objective was to determine whether or not Bearman had completed the lap before or after the red flag and whether the lap should be disallowed, to ensure the right drivers progressed to Qualifying 2.”
Loss opportunity for Haas’ upgrade package
Despite the FIA’s clarification, Bearman remained disappointed. He emphasised that the decision nullified the hard work and investment Haas had made in developing the new upgrade package.
“It is not going to change the results, unfortunately,” he said, when asked if Haas could petition for further review. “We are lost now, but, you know, it is things like that. We work and we invest so much. You know, we have a new package this weekend, and this has been months and months in the pipeline. It is the only chance we have to show it, and, you know, I put a lot of this representative and really get the most out of the car, and that is what we have to show for it. It is a big change.”
Nevertheless, Bearman remained optimistic about the car’s potential. He confirmed that he had felt “pretty happy” with how the upgraded VF-25 had performed throughout the weekend, despite some challenges.
“Yeah, so far so good. I am pretty happy with how the car feels. The wind change for qualifying was actually quite big and quite difficult for us to manage, and I struggled a little bit to adapt to that. But I still managed to do a lap that I was decently happy with, you know, in that final run.”
“I think the car has a few particularities now with this upgrade package, but when it is in the correct window, it seems to be quite performant, so I am happy with it, and so far I have had really good confidence in the car.”
Positive first impression of C6 tyres
In addition, Bearman offered a favourable assessment of the new C6 Pirelli tyres, introduced specifically for the Imola weekend. Although he admitted the experience had been challenging, he praised the compound’s performance.
“Yeah, it has been a bit tough, but it has been a good tyre, honestly, so far. I am quite positively surprised about it. You know, I have not run it before. Some other people have, and it has been a bit difficult to finish the lap, but this is the perfect track for it, and the Pirelli have done a good job.”
Looking ahead to race day
Bearman is now set to start from 19th on the grid. He faces an uphill battle to score points in Sunday’s 2025 Imola Grand Prix. However, when asked whether he believed a top-ten finish remained possible, he responded with a wry sense of humour.
“We are starting 19th, maybe nine people crashing. We have a chance.”
