The Brazilian GP’s generally near-aquaplaning situations have been an enormous problem for all Method 1 drivers, however much more so for probably the most inexperienced ones on the grid.
Amongst these with fewer than 10 grand prix begins, solely Liam Lawson had earlier expertise in moist racing situations – from his very first outing on the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, which had been a battle for him.
Qualifying had already been difficult, with many drivers crashing out on a really moist observe – each Williams and Aston Martin drivers in numerous sections, in addition to Carlos Sainz, unusually, on the exit of the Senna S.
Whereas each Franco Colapinto, because of his Flip 3 crash, and Oliver Bearman have been out in Q1, Lawson put in a outstanding efficiency to seize fifth on the grid.
Within the race Bearman spun when hitting Colapinto from behind on lap 4 – which he was penalised for – then had a 360° pirouette in Flip 7 when chasing Sainz on lap 36, nudging the tyre barrier. Lawson was spun round by Oscar Piastri in Flip 1 on lap 26, whereas Colapinto crashed out of the race in security automotive situations because the rain received worse.
Their tempo was additionally poorer than their respective team-mates’ when comparable – Albon was unable to start out the race because of each Williams automobiles sustaining injury in qualifying.
“We boxed to place inters on. It was undriveable, I feel, the observe. We shouldn’t have been driving at that time,” a “very unhappy” Colapinto stated.
Franco Colapinto, Williams FW46
Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Photos
“We have been, like, 15 seconds off the tempo, and we additionally put sizzling inters on the automotive. We tried to maintain the temps up, we have been pushing, and there was a really huge river there earlier than the straight and I misplaced the automotive very, very aggressively there. So I used to be a passenger then.”
Lawson stated he’d virtually suffered the identical destiny.
“I practically crashed the automotive most likely 10 occasions,” the New Zealander commented. “It was very sketchy, however clearly an important factor was staying on the observe, and fortuitously we have been in a position to do this.”
In the meantime, standing in for an unwell Kevin Magnussen, Bearman was painfully conscious his efficiency had not been as much as the anticipated commonplace.
“To be one of the best and to attain factors immediately, I wanted to remain on observe the entire time, and sadly, I didn’t try this,” the 2025 Haas driver stated. “I made too many errors. So yeah, it’s positively powerful situations, however I nonetheless wasn’t adequate immediately.
“However that’s good for me to be taught new issues. Doing a race within the moist may be very uncommon in F1, so profiting from all of them and taking all the laps is a good expertise.
Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24
Photograph by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Photos
“Racing below these situations is at all times powerful, and I positively discovered loads.”
Bearman was particularly struggling on intermediate tyres, lamenting an absence of predictability in high-speed corners, which dented his confidence.
Haas staff principal Ayao Komatsu was nicely conscious that the race was going to be tough for his driver, placing his errors all the way down to his inexperience but additionally blaming the repeated front-locking on the traits of the VF-24 – “not one of the best automotive in these situations”.
“Ollie made, after all, too many errors immediately. He’s the primary one to confess that,” Komatsu stated. “After the crimson flag, I stated: ‘Look, there’s so many issues going to occur, you simply want to remain on the observe’. However he realised ‘OK, I’ve really received tempo’. He was simply too keen, pushing too onerous, going off twice.
“Then we instructed him below that security automotive: ’Look, simply relax, you already know, it’s OK. Simply keep on the observe. Nonetheless 31 laps to go, a number of issues can occur, you simply should be there to choose it up.’ After which he’s driving higher after that, however nonetheless inconsistent – he couldn’t put inexperienced sectors collectively. However once more, that’s expertise.”
Komatsu added that Bearman’s SQ3 look in dry climate on Friday had been “outstanding” and that the expertise subsequently gained in moist situations could be “priceless” for each the Briton and his staff.
Ayao Komatsu, Crew Principal, Haas F1 Crew, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Crew, Mark Slade, Race Engineer, Haas F1 Crew
Photograph by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Photos
Expectations have been stored in test for children, and rightly so. In spite of everything, the final rookie to attain a podium within the rain was, relying on the definition, Sebastian Vettel when he gained the 2008 Italian Grand Prix in his first full Method 1 season.
To search out indeniable rookies reaching the identical feat, you’ll want to return to the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton main Heikki Kovalainen below the chequered flag.
Extra reporting by Oleg Karpov, Filip Cleeren and Jonathan Noble
