Oliver Bearman's 2026 season, measured: fifth in China, and one point since
Oliver Bearman scored 17 of his 18 points in the first two rounds of 2026, seventh in Melbourne and fifth in China. In the twelve races since he has one point and four retirements. Every race for the Haas driver, measured, and the radio.
Oliver Bearman started twelfth in Melbourne and finished seventh. A fortnight later he started tenth in Shanghai and finished fifth. Two races into 2026, he had 17 points and Haas looked like the surprise of the new regulations.
He has scored one point since, for tenth in Canada. The Haas has slipped from the edge of the top ten to the back third of the grid, Bearman has retired four times, and he is thirteenth in the championship on 18 points. He is still, by a distance, the faster of the two Haas drivers.
Every message he exchanged with his engineer on air this season, from the Canadian Grand Prix onward, is on
, with the audio and a transcript coloured by who is speaking.
Every race of his 2026 season
The first seven rounds:
Round
Grand Prix
Started
Finished
1
Australian
12th
7th
2
Chinese
10th
5th
3
Japanese
18th
Retired
4
Miami
12th
11th
5
Canadian
16th
10th
6
Monaco
19th
Retired
7
Barcelona
15th
Retired (classified 17th)
Grand Prix results only. Bold marks a points finish.
The next seven:
Round
Grand Prix
Started
Finished
8
Austrian
13th
14th
9
British
13th
12th
10
Belgian
14th
14th
11
Hungarian
17th
19th
12
Dutch
20th
Retired
13
Italian
11th
15th
14
Spanish (Madrid)
22nd
16th
Starting positions are the grid after penalties. In Barcelona he retired late but had covered enough of the race to be classified.
The season in numbers
18 points, thirteenth in the championship, and 15 more than his team mate Esteban Ocon.
17 of them in the first two rounds: 6 for seventh in Melbourne, 10 for fifth in China and a sprint point for eighth in Shanghai.
1 point in the twelve races since, for tenth in Canada.
4 retirements: Suzuka, Monaco, Barcelona and Zandvoort.
Best result: 5th, in China, from tenth on the grid.
Biggest gain: six places in Canada (16th to 10th), and six more in Madrid from the back of the grid.
The fade
The grid positions tell the story. In the first two rounds Bearman started twelfth and tenth. In the twelve races since he has averaged close to sixteenth, and never started higher than eleventh. The car that could fight for points in March was starting among the Williams, Aston Martins and Cadillacs by the summer, and from there even a clean race ends outside the top ten. The team's full picture, both cars side by side, is in Haas' 2026.
Against Ocon
In the ten races both Haas drivers finished, Bearman was ahead eight times. Esteban Ocon beat him only in Hungary and in Madrid, where Bearman started last. Ocon has 3 points: one for tenth at Suzuka, where Bearman retired, and two for ninth at Monaco, where Bearman retired again.
For a driver in only his second full season against a team mate with a Grand Prix win and more than 150 starts, that is a clear result. Bearman came into 2026 on the back of a rookie year that peaked with fourth at the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix, equalling Haas' best ever finish, after a debut for Ferrari in Jeddah in 2024 when he stood in for Carlos Sainz at 18 and finished seventh.
On the radio
By our count, Bearman is the driver who has apologised on the radio most often this season, seven times, three more than anyone else. Monaco was one of them. After he retired, the apology went both ways:
Oliver BearmanHaas · Monaco Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 15:42:29 local
DriverSorry guys, on our weekend. Yeah,
Engineersorry Oli. We'll go again next week. Yeah.
Nine rounds remain, starting with Baku on 26 September, where the long straight and the safety cars have given cars from outside the top ten their chances before. Haas are seventh in the constructors' championship, ahead of Audi, Williams, Aston Martin and Cadillac. The full table is in the 2026 standings, and every retirement of the season in every 2026 F1 retirement.
What this measures, and what it does not
Results, grid positions and points come from Formula 1's official timing data and match the published standings after the Spanish Grand Prix.
A retirement includes crashes as well as failures. The timing data records that a car stopped, not why.
The apology count covers every broadcast radio message in our archive for 2026, from the Canadian Grand Prix onward.
Quotes are taken only from lines where the speaker label and the words agree.
Frequently asked questions
What team does Oliver Bearman drive for in 2026?
Haas, alongside Esteban Ocon. It is his second full season with the team.
How many points does Oliver Bearman have in 2026?
18 after the Spanish Grand Prix, thirteenth in the drivers' championship. 17 of them came in the first two rounds.
What is Oliver Bearman's best F1 result?
Fourth, at the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix. His best of 2026 is fifth, in China.
When did Oliver Bearman make his F1 debut?
At the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, for Ferrari, standing in for Carlos Sainz. He was 18 and finished seventh.
Sources
Results, grid positions and points: Formula 1 timing data via FastF1, matching the published standings after the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix
Every radio message quoted, and the apology count: our own team radio archive
Hear him live
Bearman is one of the most open voices on the radio, good days and bad, and all of it goes out live.
The Formula Dream app plays live driver radio as it is broadcast, transcript beside the audio, and collects every FIA document of the weekend as it is published, including the penalty decisions that set a grid. There is also a live timing Dashboard, currently in beta.
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Nineteen Chinese Grands Prix have been held in Shanghai since 2004. Lewis Hamilton won six, pole won twelve, and in 2026 Kimi Antonelli took the first win of his career there, at 19, with Hamilton on the podium for Ferrari for the first time. Every winner, grid slot and safety car, measured.
