Bearman delighted with ‘feel-good’ career-best result in 'crazy' Mexico City GP

Ollie Bearman was over the moon with his "feel-good" fourth-placed finish during a "crazy" Mexico City Grand Prix, as he sealed his best ever F1 result.

The Haas rookie, who also went on to be crowned Driver of the Day, put in a stunning performance on Sunday as he navigated the early chaos at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez from his ninth-placed start on the grid, and battled past regular front-runners George Russell and Max Verstappen.

For Haas, the result equalled the team's best ever result in Formula 1 – matching the achievement of Romain Grosjean at the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix.

“It was crazy,” said Bearman after the race. “I’m so happy to take so many good points for the team, and we did a really fantastic job strategically, getting the car in the right window. It felt great underneath me, so a perfect job.

“It’s a feel-good moment. Also, to go side-by-side with Max is a very cool feeling. He’s someone I have basically grown up watching in Formula 1, so it’s awesome and I’m really proud of the job we did today.”

Most importantly for Bearman was a feeling that he hadn’t lucked into the result, but that he had achieved it without any external intervention.

He added: “We finished there on merit. Even if we didn’t have the pace to qualify there, we had the race pace to stay there. So I think we did an excellent job, and I just want to go and see the team and give them a big hug.”

Lap 6 saw Bearman take advantage of Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen's battle ahead for third place. As the duo fought it out, the Haas man sensed his opportunity to work his way past the Red Bull into fourth, which improved to third after Lewis Hamilton was handed a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in that skirmish.

Reflecting on the moment, he said: “I could see it all unfolding in front of me, and I was like, ‘Okay, play it safe.’ Honestly, I can’t say what I was thinking, but I was feeling a bit scared, and then I was side-by-side and super-scared.

“When I was side by side [with Verstappen], I had my nose ahead, so I was not going to give it up. Then, actually, when I was leading the pack, I was scared that they would have much more pace than me, but I was able to hold them off and build up a bit of a buffer. I’m really happy with that and so proud of the team.”