Isack Hadjar’s maiden Formula 1 podium rightly garnered attention from the Dutch Grand Prix, but another rookie also scored their best finishing position in the sport, and arguably in an even more improbable way.
Oliver Bearman had not scored a point, on a grand prix Sunday, since April and his run of 11 grand prix without a point (noting that he scored two during July’s Belgian Grand Prix sprint) looked set to continue.
He was knocked out of Q1, after he failed to improve his time on new tyres at the end of the session, and was relegated to a pit lane start after his Haas team had changed his power unit components.
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But a one-stop strategy, timed in perfect line with the introduction of the safety car on lap 53, meant that the 20-year-old could swap his hard tyres for the mediums.
Try and wipe the smiles from our faces 😁 An incredible job by the team today 🙌🇳🇱#HaasF1 #F1 #DutchGP | @OllieBearman pic.twitter.com/mAUPvrgoKX
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) August 31, 2025
In the final 15 laps, the Haas driver picked off Gabriel Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly, before profiting from Lando Norris’ retirement and Kimi Antonelli’s penalty (for crashing into Leclerc, which caused the lap 53 safety car), to be classified in sixth place.
This meant that the Haas driver, after fending off Lance Stroll, claimed his best-ever Formula 1 finish, which surpassed the seventh-place finish that he claimed on his grand prix debut: at last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Lucky, but long-awaited
The 20-year-old was the first to acknowledge the fortuitous timing of the safety car, as he told haasf1team.com: “I wasn’t expecting this, and we definitely got lucky today for sure. Sometimes you need to be in the right place at the right time, and good calls were made on strategy, the car was quick, and the team did a great job.”
But such was the chaos that has struck a collection of races in 2025, it was inevitable that luck would swing his way, and he still did the job of executing the opportunity.
On a day where other midfield runners could have scored big points, like: Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson, and where Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli both floundered during the race, the rookie should be praised for his execution.
Where this leaves Haas
With 44 points just 15 weekends into an F1 season, it sounds ludicrous that such a points tally would only be enough for ninth in the standings. However, such has been the fierce competition brewing in this season’s midfield, the American team have been made to pay for their missed opportunities.
But sitting only seven points behind eighth-placed Sauber and sixteen points behind Racing Bulls, who of course scored big this past weekend, a turnaround in Haas’ form could set the blueprint for a better championship result.
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