F1 / NEWS & CONTEXT

Bearman links Sepang Q1 exit to Haas setup error

Oliver Bearman says an unintended Haas setup in Friday practice cost him valuable preparation before qualifying 18th at Sepang.

GPBeat · Newsroom05 Oct 2026, 23:28 · 1 min

Oliver Bearman qualified 18th at Sepang on Saturday, with Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon also eliminated in Q1. Bearman said a setup error in Friday’s second practice had disrupted his preparation: the configuration fitted to his car was not the one Haas had intended to run.

The issue was corrected for Saturday’s final practice, in which Bearman finished 17th. He said he had only two push laps in that session to learn what the corrected car needed, after losing the chance to do that work on Friday.

Bearman said no individual was to blame, describing the error as a failure of team processes. He believed the lost preparation kept him from reaching Q2.

Sources 01

SOURCEOliver Bearman details shocking Haas issue behind Malaysia strugglesRacingNews365 English · Source date as found: 2026-10-03

Source context

RacingNews365 reported Bearman’s comments to the media after qualifying at Sepang on 3 October 2026.

Claims and supporting evidence 4

RacingNews365 reports that Haas driver Oliver Bearman qualified 18th and was eliminated in Q1, as was teammate Esteban Ocon.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Qualifying at Sepang Saturday, 3 October 2026 The qualifying positions are reported by the sole supplied publication; no separate official results page was read.

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Bearman told media including RacingNews365 that the setup Haas intended for his car was not the setup fitted for Friday’s second practice session.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Bearman’s account of the Haas setup Friday practice, before qualifying on 3 October 2026 This is Bearman’s firsthand account as quoted by RacingNews365, not an independently documented technical diagnosis.

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RacingNews365 reports that the issue was corrected for Saturday’s final practice, in which Bearman finished 17th. Bearman said losing useful running in the second practice session left him learning about the corrected car during final practice.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Practice and qualifying preparation Friday and Saturday practice, 2–3 October 2026 The preparation disadvantage is Bearman’s assessment; the article does not quantify its effect on his qualifying time.

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Bearman declined to blame a particular person, describing missed processes. He attributed his Q1 exit to the lost preparation and said he would otherwise have reached Q2.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Responsibility and claimed qualifying consequence After qualifying on 3 October 2026 Neither a specific cause within Haas’s processes nor the hypothetical Q2 outcome is independently established by the supplied page.

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Corrections and updates to this story

05 Oct 2026, 23:28

Nederlandse formulering over de werkwijze van Haas gecorrigeerd.

This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.