After a disappointing 2024 Barcelona F2 Round where he failed to score points in either the Sprint or Feature Race, Oliver Bearman, now in F1 with Haas, returns to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the 2025 F1 Spanish GP. For Bearman who has suffered unfortunate results in both Imola and Monaco, finishing P17 and P12 respectively, the Spanish GP will mark a chance to score some much needed points during the European triple-header.
Bearman’s thoughts on the Catalunya circuit
Ahead of his return to the familiar Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the 2025 F1 Spanish GP, Bearman, during Thursday’s FIA Press Conference, gave his thoughts on the historical Spanish track. He also discussed his hopes for the weekend, and while he acknowledged that he was not likely to replicate his 2023 F2 success, where he won the Feature Race, he hopes for a good weekend nevertheless.
“It’s a really cool track. It’s one that we’ve done, I think, as drivers the most laps on because there’s so much testing here. Always pre-season or winter testing ends up in Barcelona. So it’s returning to a track that we’ve done a lot of laps on for most of us. But it’s a fun track. Now with the new Sector 3, it’s a bit better to drive compared to the previous one with the chicane. I had a good race here in Formula 2 a few years ago. I don’t think we’ll replicate that, but hopefully it’s a good weekend.”
Struggles with predicting the performance of his Haas
Though excited and optimistic ahead of the 2025 F1 Spanish GP, Bearman admitted that it was diffciult to predict his performance, given the VF-25’s unpredictable performance. While Haas has outperformed some of their midfield rivals, they have openly admitted to a plethora of issues with their car. Bearman, with only three points finishes in eight races is particularly aware of this. Regardless, the rookie driver expects a solid weekend in Barcelona.
“Honestly, I’m at a bit of a loss because the weekends where we expected to struggle, we’ve actually done really well – and vice versa. So, it’s tough to really build predictions for this car. What we’ve done is bring the new upgrade in Imola, and we need to see how that works now in high-speed corners, because Imola isn’t as high-speed as Barcelona. If we can get that under control and have good performance there, then I think it can be another solid weekend for car performance.”
Bearman’s thoughts on the Monaco GP
Although his attention has shifted to the 2025 F1 Spanish GP, Bearman, who finished 12th in Monaco reflected on that weekend’s race. Though he managed a strong recovery, ending the race P12 after starting last, Bearman admitted that better results had been unlikely. He acknowledged the importance of Qualifying at the Monaco GP and suggested that a mindset shift was needed with respect to the historic race.
“I mean, looking at the stats, it’s not like Monaco used to have a bunch of overtakes and now it doesn’t. It’s never been a track where the race is particularly exciting. People just need to accept that the thrill of Monaco is on Saturday in qualifying. It’s always going to be a boring race with a track of that size.“
“And unfortunately, with the cars of this size, nothing’s going to happen. I think smaller cars would be better, but I don’t think it’s going to fix everything. Because 20, 30 years ago, it was the same scenario – not many overtakes. But Quali is where the fun is in Monaco, and that’s even more reason to qualify well – then you don’t get stuck in the train.”
