The Dutch Grand Prix can deliver the drama, and this year’s edition did not disappoint. Across 72 laps of Zandvoort’s twisting, sand-swept circuit, fans witnessed a weekend peppered with safety cars, spins and surprises. In the middle of it all, Ollie Bearman turned a challenging start into the best result of his Formula 1 career so far.
Practice
The weekend got off to a chaotic start, with drivers spinning off and red flags halting sessions across the board. Bearman, however, managed to stay out of trouble. In FP2, he even topped the timesheets for a spell, holding the fastest lap until midway through the session. FP3 saw Ollie experimenting with hard compound tyres, which he later said ‘looked incredible’, claiming to feel ‘probably the best I felt all year’.
Qualifying
Qualifying at Zandvoort is always a test, with steep banking and tight corners leaving little margin for error. Yellow flags disrupted the opening session after an early crash, and as the clock ticked down, Ollie found himself unable to improve his lap time. He exited Q1 in P19, leaving a mountain to climb on race day.
The Race
Starting in the pit lane after a power unit change, Ollie was one of only a handful of drivers to start the race on hard compound tyres, perhaps inspired by the pace he had felt in Practice.
Patience paid off. As others started to pit, Ollie climbed up the order. By Lap 20, he was running P15. When Lewis Hamilton crashed out and prompted the first Safety Car, most of the grid came in for fresh tyres. Ollie did not - a decision that propelled him to the cusp of the top ten.
Sitting in P11 for the race restart, on Lap 39, Ollie defended an attempted pass from the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda, as Ollie and his teammate were the only two cars on the grid left to pit.
A few laps later, the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli took out Charles Leclerc in the one remaining Ferrari, prompting another Safety Car. This meant Ollie could seize the opportunity to pit under a Safety Car, losing less time and maintaining track position for the restart.
From the restart, the charge was on. On Lap 58, Ollie overtook the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto for P10 and just three laps later, swept past two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, snatching P9. With the Alpine of Pierre Gasly next in line, by Lap 65, Ollie was ready to pounce, in a stunning overtake into P8.
Now less than nine seconds behind Antonelli, who had penalties looming, Ollie had to bring it home as smoke began to billow from the McLaren of Lando Norris, forcing a late retirement and prompting yet another Safety Car.
P7 on the restart, Ollie crossed the line in seventh place and was promoted to P6 after 15 seconds of time penalties were applied to Antonelli. In P6, Ollie collected eight points and cemented his best-ever finish in Formula 1.
Looking Ahead
Collecting valuable points for himself and the team, does Ollie’s Dutch drive mark a turning point in what has been a testing rookie season?
After proving his ability to fight through the field and seize opportunities, Zandvoort will be remembered as the weekend where Bearman’s persistence was rewarded. With momentum behind him, Ollie heads into the second half of the season full of fight and a growing reputation in the sport as the season moves to Monza next.
All in
Inspire