‘It’s a big result’ – Ocon and Bearman 'very satisfied' with double-points finish for Haas at Zandvoort

Ollie Bearman managed to recover from a pit lane start to finish an incredible sixth in the Dutch Grand Prix, giving Haas much to celebrate as they brought home a double-points finish, with Esteban Ocon crossing the line in 10th.

The result was extra impressive when considering their starting positions, but the drivers were keen to stress it was one born out of hard work, with excellent strategy calls contributing to their haul of points in Zandvoort.

Bearman’s drive was arguably the more surprising, given the youngster opted for a pit lane start to change some power unit components after qualifying just 19th on Saturday. He started on the hard tyre and ran a very long first stint, Haas opting not to pit under the first Safety Car unlike the majority of the field.

The team needed another Safety Car to make their strategy work, and they got just that when Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli crashed, Bearman diving into the pits for his one and only stop. That left him solidly in the top 10, and not only did he hold station, but the rookie kept close enough to Antonelli to profit when the latter’s time penalties were applied.

“We got lucky today for sure, but sometimes you need to be in the right place at the right time,” Bearman explained after the race.

“Good calls on strategy, the car was quick as well which always has to be the case as well. The guys did a good job, gave me a great car. We were a bit unlucky I would say after Qualifying, we had a few misfortunes which meant that we started from last, but to score points today is a very good feeling.”

Bearman had to work hard for his score, sticking close to his team mate in the first stint as both started to struggle on aging tyres, and then keeping some faster, fresher shod cars at bay. It was his first points score since Bahrain, and his best finish of the season so far.

"Nice to get back in the points. It has been a long time coming for sure, the team have been working incredibly hard, and I think we are getting there step by step.

"We’ve got some things to work on and also myself, I’m far from perfect, still making too many mistakes. But we are on the right path and I really have high hopes,” he concluded.

Team work was key in Zandvoort, with Ocon – who started 18th and was the first Haas driver to breach the top 10 – helping Bearman at points in the race. The Frenchman could have felt aggrieved that his team mate finished ahead, given Ocon was running in front for much of the race – but he stopped one lap earlier than Bearman, and that cost him a handful of places.

“It’s very positive as a team to have a double-points finish for both of us,” Ocon said. “Got a little bit unlucky with the Safety Car, I think I lost maybe three positions or four. But overall, very satisfied with that. Well done to Ollie, he has done a fantastic race also and that’s big for us, it is a big result.

“We helped ourselves during the race. We were 10th and 11th during the time and Ollie dropped back from DRS and the team asked me to give him DRS [drag reduction system] and we just kept pushing forward, both of us together.

“And then I boxed and the Safety Car came at the wrong time so I fell backwards, but Ollie benefited from that. So as a team it was good, definitely strong points. I knew there was something we could play here, even starting from the back, it makes crazy races for sure. But happy with the outcome for the team and hopefully we can do more of that at the next one.”

Haas remain ninth in the Teams’ Championship, but at least have kept in touch with Kick Sauber ahead, and only need another strong weekend to close the gap in what is increasingly turning into an incredibly tight midfield fight.