Oliver Bearman has revealed how a fundamental shift in his race weekend preparation fuelled the striking upturn in performance that defined the latter stages of his debut Formula 1 season with Haas.
The 20-year-old British driver ended the 2025 campaign in 13th place in the drivers’ standings, impressively outscoring team-mate Esteban Ocon by two positions despite the Frenchman’s superior experience and previous Grand Prix victory. The turnaround came into sharp focus after the summer shutdown, when six of Bearman’s nine points finishes materialised, culminating in a career-best fourth place in Mexico where he ran within striking distance of the podium for extended periods.
Strategic shift in weekend preparation unlocked performance
The transformation in Bearman’s fortunes stemmed not from technical breakthroughs alone, but from a deliberate restructuring of how he approached each grand prix weekend. While Haas introduced a significant floor upgrade at the United States Grand Prix that enhanced the car’s competitiveness, the rookie identified a more personal evolution as the catalyst for his improved results.
“Since the summer break I tried to add a bit more structure to my weekends, how I go about the weekends,” Bearman explained. The shift involved allocating dedicated time to mental preparation rather than exclusively fixating on engineering minutiae and driving technique.
Prior to the mid-season interval, Bearman found himself trapped in a cycle of perpetual technical analysis. With the Haas frequently struggling to escape the first qualifying segment, he devoted every available moment to extracting marginal gains through setup refinements and driving adjustments. The relentless focus on finding tenths of a second left little capacity for psychological readiness.
Mental preparation becomes priority over endless setup work
The revised approach incorporated a clear boundary: thirty minutes before each session, Bearman would cease all technical work and redirect his attention entirely toward mental preparation and session-specific objectives. This deliberate separation between engineering analysis and psychological readiness proved transformative for the young driver’s rookie season trajectory.
“Spending really no time thinking about where my head is at prior to getting in the car and setting goals for each session. Now just making sure that half an hour before the session I stop working on the set-up and the driving and all of those things and focus on my mental side. I found that to be quite useful,” he noted.
The distinction highlights a crucial lesson many rookies must navigate: the balance between technical immersion and maintaining the psychological clarity needed to execute at racing speed. Bearman’s willingness to step back from endless data analysis, particularly once the car’s performance improved, created space for the mental sharpness required in competitive racing scenarios.
Consistency emerged as car performance stabilised
Bearman’s early-season record was not devoid of promise. Four or five consecutive 11th-place finishes demonstrated he was operating competently within the midfield pack, even if points remained frustratingly out of reach. The issue was not catastrophic underperformance but rather a lack of consistent rhythm and the occasional misstep that prevented him from capitalising on opportunities.
The floor upgrade at Austin provided a technical foundation that elevated Haas into more regular points contention, but Bearman’s strategic adjustments to his preparation routine ensured he was positioned to maximise those improved circumstances. The combination of better machinery and refined mental approach created the synergy necessary for sustained success in the championship‘s closing stages.
Rookie mistakes essential for long-term development
Reflecting on whether he could have implemented these changes earlier, Bearman acknowledged the inherent impossibility of bypassing the learning process. Formula 1 demands experiential knowledge that cannot be shortcut through theory alone.
“There’s a lot of changes that I would have done, a lot of differences I would have made to what I did, but how can I do that without the knowledge of what works and what doesn’t,” he stated. The first half of the season served as necessary exploration, a period of trial and error required to identify effective personal processes within the unique demands of grand prix racing.
Having contested three races in 2024 before his full-time debut, Bearman considers himself effectively a second-year driver in terms of accumulated wisdom. That additional context, combined with the lessons extracted from early-season struggles, positioned him to make meaningful adjustments once patterns became clear.
“The first half of the season is purely exploratory and has to be that way because you have to find what works for you and what doesn’t. F1 is a very different sport to what I’ve been doing the rest of my life. Definitely I would have changed things, but it’s not as easy as knowing. You have to do mistakes to learn from them and that’s really been the story of the season.”
Momentum and rhythm critical factors in sustained performance
The concept of rhythm emerged as particularly significant in Bearman’s assessment of his development. As the season progressed beyond the twentieth round, the accumulation of experience created a compounding effect where lessons from previous weekends informed better decisions in subsequent events.
This momentum proved self-reinforcing. Strong results bred confidence, which facilitated clearer thinking and more decisive actions during compressed race weekend schedules. The structured approach to mental preparation became increasingly natural, requiring less conscious effort as it embedded itself into his routine.
“I feel like I’ve found some momentum and rhythm. I think rhythm is also a really powerful thing within this sport. It’s not just one thing that’s changed. It’s also a consequence of gaining experience within the sport,” Bearman reflected, acknowledging the multifaceted nature of his improvement.
What this means going forward
Bearman’s positive assessment of his rookie campaign extends beyond the raw statistical achievement of outscoring Ocon. The genuine value lies in the sustainable processes he has developed and the self-awareness he has cultivated regarding areas requiring continued refinement.
“I’ve been happy with it. That’s not to say that I’m a perfect and polished driver because I still have a lot to learn and I’m aware of that. But I think being aware of that is also very important. I feel like I’m in a good place right now,” he stated, projecting the confidence of a driver who has navigated the initial challenges of Formula 1 adaptation and emerged with clarity about his strengths and development priorities.
The structured weekend approach and emphasis on mental preparation position Bearman advantageously for 2026, when continuity with Haas and familiarity with both machinery and personnel should eliminate the exploratory phase that consumed his first half-season. With foundational learning complete and effective processes established, the British driver has laid groundwork for a sustained career at motorsport’s highest level.
