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Bearman Criticizes Rookie Rule After Missing FP1, Then Delivers P4 for Haas in Mexico

FIA’s two‑start threshold left the first‑year Haas driver ineligible for rookie sessions after three 2024 stand‑ins.

Overview

  • Haas handed FP1 in Mexico to reserve Ryo Hirakawa to meet the rookie‑running mandate, leaving Oliver Bearman without track time on a circuit he had never driven.
  • Despite missing FP1, Bearman reached Q3 and outqualified Esteban Ocon for the sixth straight race, continuing a run of improved Saturdays.
  • Bearman finished fourth behind Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, matching Haas’s best result since 2018 and only the team’s second P4 since 2016.
  • He said racing Verstappen produced the most pressure he has felt in a race, recounting a tense side‑by‑side fight early on.
  • Haas credited a recent upgrade package, including a floor introduced in Austin, for its pace gains, as Bearman moved to 13th in the standings with 32 points and the team to eighth with 62.