Oliver Bearman opens up on terrifying 50G Suzuka crash

Oliver Bearman has revealed the Formula 1 drivers warned the FIA of a looming crash just days before his violent 50G impact at Suzuka.

Thankfully, when it did happen during the Japanese Grand Prix, Bearman was able to limp away from his stricken Haas with nothing more serious than a bruised knee.

Oliver Bearman reveals FIA warning before Suzuka crash

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Formula 1 introduced new power unit regulations this season, with the engines powered by a 50/50 split between combustion and electrical power.

Battery harvesting and super clipping have become the norm for the drivers, resulting in a huge decrease in speed. That leads to a massive delta difference in closing speeds.

Drivers, such as Carlos Sainz, have warned that it is only a matter of time before there’s a huge crash.

That came at round three of the championship when Bearman came flying up behind Franco Colapinto into Spoon corner midway through the Japanese Grand Prix.

Colapinto’s Alpine had slowed as he harvested energy, with Bearman caught unaware by the closing speed. He dived to the left of the Alpine, but lost control of his Haas on the grass and went shooting across the track and hard into the barrier with a 50G impact.

Bearman revealed the drivers had spoken with the FIA about the possibility of such an incident during Friday evening’s driver briefing.

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“It was a massive overspeed, 50 kph, which is real part of these new regulations that I guess we have to get used to,” Bearman told the media in Suzuka.

“But also I felt like I wasn’t really given much space, given the huge excess speed that I was carrying.

“It was something that we spoke about on Friday with the other drivers and the stewards, that we need to be a bit more lenient, a bit more prepared, because of these huge deltas in speed.

“I think we as a group warned the FIA what can happen. And this has been a really unfortunate result of a massive delta speed that we’ve never seen before in F1 with these new regulations.”

The Briton climbed out of his VF-26 but hobbled towards the marshals before two of them came over to support him as he didn’t want to put weight on his right leg.

He was taken to the track’s medical centre where X-rays revealed he had no fractures, just a right knee contusion.

“Yeah, everything good. First of all, I’m absolutely fine,” he confirmed.

“It was a scary moment that happened out there, but everything is okay, which is the main thing,

“Car is a bit worse to wear, but we have a month now so to reset and come back.

“I can only apologise from the bottom of my heart to the team for that, because it’s a lot of work for them.”

He added: “Everything’s fine. Everything’s fine.

“Adrenaline wearing off now, it is going to be a long trip home, but no, I’m absolutely fine. The important thing is that.

“Everyone’s in really high spirits, we have a month now to reset everything and to come back stronger in Miami. That will definitely be the goal.”

Formula 1’s decision to cancel April’s Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races in light of world events, means Bearman will be able to take a well-deserved break to recover before he begins preparing for the Miami Grand Prix.

“I’ll definitely take a few days off to rest and recover, and make sure I feel better,” he said, “but then, as normal, start preparing towards the next race in Miami.”

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