I’ve never wanted a rookie to get 4th place so much in my life, and have never been so accepting of a blatantly unnecessary safety car in Formula 1. After the drive of his career, Ollie Bearman had Oscar Piastri in his mirrors with just a few laps left at the Mexico City Grand Prix. 4th shouldn’t be a big deal, but for a Lando Norris fan, Ollie in 4th meant everything this weekend. It meant Lando would be the ranking world champion, as Oscar had to place 4th or better to retain his position. It didn’t matter that Lando was 30+ seconds ahead of the field with an assured win; should nothing go awry. It mattered that Ollie Bearman squeezed every last second out of a recently upgraded Haas and put his skills to work to fend off Lando’s closest rival for the championship. 

The whole season, if not the last 2, have been a mess of ‘Papaya Rules’. Zak Brown and Andrea Stella have tried to control their drivers by dolling out ‘repercussions’ and manipulating race positions. Their actions and ethos have undermined the true spirit of racing. I happen to think Lando is a better driver; he can rise to a challenge and scrap his way up the field without fear. But he drives emotionally, which can lead to mistakes. Oscar is a machine. His emotional range is non-existent, +1/ -1 if that, which allows him to drive consistently and without error. We’ll never really know who was better this season due to the McLaren management’s interventions. 

Which brings us back to Ollie. That was pure racing. He doesn’t have the fastest car and he doesn’t have the most experience, but he had what he needed when he needed it. Kimi Antonelli couldn’t catch him, prompting a brazen George Russell to demand a car swap with his Mercedes teammate so he could give it a try. He couldn’t do it either. When Piastri finally made it past Russell, he was next in line to set his sights on Ollie – in the fastest car in the field, as the leader of the driver’s championship. 

Ollie held the line. By the time Oscar got within DRS range, Carlos Sainz had an insignificant spin at turn 14, putting the race under caution. Oscar used the moment to creep up on Ollie to within .35 and was sure to pass when the yellow lifted. Much to my confusion (and delight), even though Carlos’ car was already off the track, race control assigned a virtual safety car, halting all progress in the field. Oscar backed off of Ollie to over 1.5 behind, apparently assuming the race would end under the safety car. When the VSC was lifted with ½ a lap to go, Oscar was out of range to pass, and now a point behind Lando in the championship race.

That 4th was the highest finish for Haas since Grosjean’s 4th in Austria in 2018, and the first top 5 for both Bearman and team principal Ayao Komatsu. In the post-race interview, Ollie’s family and girlfriend were in tears, which got Ollie emotional, which led to the reporter getting a little choked up, (which, quite honestly, had me in a “I’m not crying – you’re crying” moment myself). Champagne was popped and Ollie’s 4th was celebrated as a win for the Haas team. It was certainly a win for Lando. So thank you Ollie. Congratulations!