Data shows how Oliver Bearman lost control at Suzuka, exposing F1’s electrical risks

Oliver Bearman’s dramatic crash at Turn 13 stole the headlines in Japan, raising urgent questions about car safety and F1’s electrical systems.

The Haas driver was uninjured in the smash, however, the incident has sparked serious comments about the safety of this new generation of cars and the excessive influence of the electrical system.

How did Oliver Bearman’s crash happen?

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Following a poor qualifying session on Saturday, Bearman started the race from 18th position.

He started well and, after just a few laps on the medium tyres, had made his way up to P14 with Colapinto in front of him as the next target.

However, he was initially unable to challenge the Alpine driver, so the Briton had to wait for the early series of pit stops involving both him and Colapinto.

After three laps on the hard tyres, Bearman had better pace and was preparing his attack. He was constantly in Colapinto’s mirrors and was waiting for his opportunity, which came after the hairpin on Lap 21.

What we can see from the onboard camera is that the Briton carried much higher speed when approaching T13, and when Colapinto stopped accelerating, the closing distance shrank extremely fast. Bearman had to react, which caused him to lose control of the car.

When that close to the car ahead, aerodynamics play a huge role. In this instance, Bearman lost a a massive amount of downforce in Colapinto’s slipstream, changing both the car balance and the available grip with the asphalt.

A significantly reduced amount of aerodynamics, available grip, and a more aggressive steering input was enough for the Haas driver to lose control.

According to data provided by the team, Bearman hit the barrier at a speed of 308 km/h, while enduring a massive 50G impact. Luckily, the Briton escaped without any injuries.

Although the first reaction after the incident might be that Colapinto’s speed is responsible, the telemetry shows otherwise.

Colapinto was only a fraction slower through this section compared to the lap before; the difference is so small that we can freely say there was effectively no difference at all in his speed between these two laps.

This can be seen on the chart below, where the white line shows the speed during the incident lap.

Also, from the onboard camera on Lap 20, it can be seen that Bearman is close, but nowhere near as close as he was on the lap of the incident.

This brings us to the conclusion that Bearman actually did something different, which led to the speed difference. Although we cannot be certain, there is a very high probability that it was a different energy deployment with a view to trying to overtake the Alpine ahead.

Unfortunately, Bearman’s data during the race in Japan is unusable due to technical errors. However, what we can take as a reference is Colapinto’s feeling that Bearman’s speed was up to 45km/h higher compared to the lap before. That’s echoed by Haas boss Ayao Komatsu who has suggested it was 50km/h higher.

Such a massive difference in speed, at that point of the circuit, is only possible with the car’s electrical system.

But that was not the only example of such a large delta between two drivers in this part of the track.

On Lap 37, George Russell in the Mercedes ran into a software issue just after exiting T12, which led to a rapid drop in his speed.

The key difference was that Leclerc was far enough behind to react and position his car exactly where he wanted. From the graph above, we can see that the resulting speed difference between these two drivers was truly massive.

Both situations show that, with the current systems in Formula 1 cars, an unsafe difference in speed can very easily occur. Whether it is caused by a software error in the car, poor judgment by the driver, or bad luck, it is a distinct possibility.

Let us also recall the avoided incident at the start of the race in Australia, in which Colapinto was also involved.

The telemetry makes it clear: modern F1 cars can generate unsafe speed deltas, and the next crash may be far worse.

Bearman’s crash isn’t just a one-off; it underlines the urgent need for FIA and teams to rethink safety in F1’s electrical era.

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