– At the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, an incident in the very first lap caused a moment of shock in the midfield. Isack Hadjar lost control of his Red Bull – right in front of Oliver Bearman, who only with difficulty managed to prevent a serious accident.
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The Haas pilot had to swerve abruptly just before the long straight and even drive off the track to avoid an impact. Despite the dramatic moment, Bearman ultimately brought his car to a strong fifth-place finish.
“I was really lucky,” Bearman said later. “To be honest: I’m glad to even be standing here. That could have been a monster crash.”
Spin in the first lap
The incident happened in the middle of the hectic start phase. Bearman had actually started the race well and was on a solid first lap when the situation suddenly developed in front of him. “I had a really good first lap,” the Brit explains. “Then Isack spun in front of me and lost the car.”
Bearman had hardly any time to react. “In the next moment, he’s suddenly sideways,” he describes. “I had to decide within a tenth of a second.”
The Haas pilot instinctively steered to the left, briefly left the track, and was just able to avoid a collision. However, the price for this was high: after the evasive maneuver, he found himself at the back of the field. “I think I was somewhere in 14th place after that,” Bearman said. “I just thought: this is going to be a long day.”
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Hadjar: “The car just snapped”
Hadjar himself also found it difficult to explain the incident. The Frenchman reports that his car suddenly broke away without warning in the decisive situation. “It came completely unexpectedly,” says Hadjar. “The car just broke away.”
The situation happened so quickly that he could hardly react. “I didn’t even have time to give any counter-reaction. The thing just spun and that was it.” He also struggled with the balance of his car throughout the rest of the race. “I struggled with it the whole race,” he admits.
Difficult conditions on the track
According to Bearman’s assessment, the inconsistent behavior of the cars also played a role. Above all, the strong wind made the balance of the vehicles on the Shanghai International Circuit extremely difficult. “This corner was very tricky throughout the race,” he explains. “The wind could be felt everywhere on the track today. The balance was constantly different.”
His impression: many drivers had to struggle with similar problems. “At least I hope so,” Bearman says with a laugh. “In any case, it was quite difficult for me.”
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Despite the early setback, the Haas pilot fought his way forward impressively as the race progressed – and ultimately even finished in fifth place. “In both races this season, I practically finished the first lap at the very back,” says Bearman, looking back at the season opener and Shanghai. “But after that, the race was really fantastic.”
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