Oliver Bearman reveals he ‘almost killed’ Isack Hadjar in Chinese GP near-miss

Oliver Bearman admitted he “almost killed” Isack Hadjar in a terrifying near-miss at the Chinese Grand Prix after the Red Bull driver spun directly in front of him.

Hadjar and Bearman lined up eighth and ninth at the Shanghai International Circuit, with the Red Bull driver ahead.

Oliver Bearman explains near collision with Isack Hadjar in Chinese Grand Prix

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Racing for position in a wheel-to-wheel battle, Hadjar was marginally ahead of Bearman when he spun on his own after locking his rear axle.

Bearman darted left to avoid him, but with Hadjar spinning the same way, the Haas driver had to use the tarmac run-off to avoid what would’ve been a high-speed collision.

This Lap 1 spin from Isack Hadjar!! ?#F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/0BFgqzLzdV

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 15, 2026

“The moment I almost killed him,” Bearman said of the near collision to Viaplay.

“To be honest, f*** – sorry that wasn’t the word I was looking for – damn that was close!”

Bearman was still reeling from what could’ve been a huge crash as he dropped another F-bomb when he spoke with the media in the pen after the grand prix.

“F*** me,” he said, “Maybe not please, it’s an expensive fine, I’m still new in that one – I can’t afford that.”

He reckons that crash would’ve been a nasty one.

“I was so lucky to be honest to avoid that,” he said. “I mean I’m lucky to be standing here, honestly, I would have been a monster shunt.

“It was a really tricky corner the whole race with the wind, it was just all over the place, the car balance, I think for everyone, well, I hope for everyone, because it was tough for me.

“And I saw with Isack, we were pushing hard and to be honest it felt like the corner was done and then next thing I know, he’s sideways, and then I’m trying to avoid him.

“In one tenth of a second, I went left, I had to go off track to avoid and I ended up back in last again.”

Go deeper: PF1 analysis of the Chinese GP

Chinese GP conclusions: Verstappen sabbatical fear, mixed Hamilton feelings, McLaren Powertrains

Chinese GP driver ratings: Antonelli shines, Hamilton impresses and Ocon falters

The Haas driver dropped to the back of the field, but worked his way into the points with good strategy and pace yielding a P5 finish.

“Both of my races this year, Australia and China, I’ve ended up pretty much last after Lap 1, but we’re getting there, and the race was fantastic after that,” he said.

“I made some overtakes on track. I was quicker than the Alpines and I was quicker than the Audi at that stage. That was strong and the car felt great. Then, you know, we picked up a great Safety Car timing.

“But I think with the bad luck on Lap 1, that was kind of cancelled out by the great timing of the Safety Car. Pretty much I was back where I started after all of that, you know, I was right behind Pierre, which is where I was halfway through lap one before all of the mess. So, you know that that was great.

“And yeah, then the pace was really strong. After that, I was able to clear the traffic. And then, honestly, I was doing like 40 quali laps, which was good fun.”

Bearman has scored points every time they’ve been on offer this season, seventh in Australia, eighth in the Sprint in China and fifth in the grand prix.

With 17 points on the board, he sits P5 in the Drivers’ Championship.

“I think we’re quicker in race trim,” he said of the performance of his VF-26, “at the moment it seems to be the case.

“Qualifying has been a bit more challenging. I would say that Pierre has been incredibly fast this weekend, even on the race. You know, the last 10 laps he was he was coming at me incredibly quickly.

“So there’s a lot of work to do before the next race, we need to optimize a few things, but I’m really happy with the balance of the car, the feeling of the car, so it’s a great baseline. We need to keep working. Thank you.

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: Winners and losers from the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix