Bearman battles Verstappen to secure Haas’ best finish since 2018

MEXICO CITY (AP) — As Oliver Bearman was crossing the finish line at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, his team in the garage celebrated. The British driver did not win the Mexican Grand Prix, nor did he make the podium, but it was a great result for him and his team.

The 20-year-old Bearman finished fourth on Sunday in Mexico to give Haas, the only American team racing in Formula 1, its second fourth-place finish since they started competing in 2016.

He finished behind Lando Norris, from McLaren, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

“I didn’t expect to be fighting against these top cars this year or at this stage of my career,” Bearman said at the end of the race. “But it gives me a great feeling for the future. And hopefully that can be the normal thing.”

Romain Grosjean earned Haas its other fourth-place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix in 2018.

“The car has been competitive at every race excluding the opening round, and that’s credit to the team,” said Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu. “We knew a big result would come one day, but we couldn’t force it, we had to focus on our own race, and that’s what we did today.”

The team, owned by Gene Haas, introduced an upgrade package to the VF-25 for the United States Grand Prix last week where Bearman finished ninth.

The car’s improvement also helped Bearman’s teammate Esteban Ocon, who also finished in the points placing ninth.

“Honestly, I was, shutting myself, going side by side with Max, but it’s really cool to go relative well with these people that I’ve been following since I started watching F1,” Bearman said. “I have them in my mirrors during the race, it was probably the most pressure that I had so far.”

Bearman made his Formula 1 debut last year in Saudi Arabia where he replaced an ill Carlos Sainz Jr. and finished in seventh place.

“We were doing something right today. Quality pace,” he said. “I would stand by the fact that I’m really, really happy with it.”

Although it was an impressive performance on the track, Bearman does not have big plans for a Mexican fiesta.

“Tonight I’m on the first flight back home,” said the 20-year-old smiling. “And I’ll be straight to bed. Honestly, I’m tired now.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing