“He saw me coming and moved,” says Oliver Bearman of clash that has put driver safety at the top of the agenda as 2026 rules talks continue.
Before a wheel had turned in anger, drivers had warned of their fears over closing speeds, and almost from the moment the lights went out in Melbourne the signs were there. However, it was at Suzuka that the danger was rammed home…
On the approach to Spoon, as Bearman closed on Franco Colapinto, the Argentine, at much lower speed as he was harvesting energy, moved to his left, leaving the approaching Haas driver no choice but to take to the grass and career off into the barriers, the impact measured at 50G.
“That’s the first time really in history, or at least in as long as I can remember, that two cars fighting for position have such a massive speed delta, and that’s really an unfortunate consequence of these regulations,” the Briton told the Up to Speed podcast.
“Franco moved in front of me to defend his position,” he explained. “Last year it would have been absolutely on the limit, but probably acceptable with just a five or 10km/h speed delta,” he continued. “But with 50km/h, he didn’t leave me enough space and I basically had to avoid a much, much bigger crash.
“When he moved left it was a small move, but with that speed difference any move is huge, so I was lucky not to hit him. It would have been much, much worse if I had.”
Risking the wrath of the Argentine driver’s ‘social media army’, Bearman confirms that such scenarios as occurred had been discussed at the drivers’ briefing at the start of the weekend.
“It was something we spoke about on Friday, which makes it even more frustrating,” said the Briton. “We said among all the drivers, we need to give each other a bit more respect, move to defend your position a bit earlier, because the speed deltas are much higher than we’ve ever had in our sport. And then two days later that happens, which for me was unacceptable.
“He saw me coming and moved. Last year it would have been fine; this year he sees me coming too late. I’m arriving with such a speed delta that at that point it’s too late to move. So I saw him look in his mirror and go left, which is not good.
“We need to sort these things out between drivers, have a bit more respect between us, because I was really not happy with what he did. But I also think there are a few tweaks we can make with the FIA, and we’ve been working very well together to try and avoid these big speed differences in any case. Because, as I said, 50km/h is normally like a car on a cool-down lap versus a car pushing, and when they then move to defend, it becomes dangerous.
“I’m glad I’m okay and happy to be completely fine, looking forward to Miami.”