That said, let's talk about the hard racing at the Circuit of The Americas. Ollie Bearman and Pierre Gasly found themselves tangled in a clash during Sunday's United States Grand Prix, fighting tooth and nail right on the edges of the top 10.
Bearman had already grabbed two positions on the opening lap and quickly hunted down the Alpine driver as a Virtual Safety Car period ended. The Haas machine lunged down the inside through the right of Turn 13, making contact that looked minor enough at first glance.
I'm pleased because after the contact with Ollie, we had quite a big damage on the floor,
Unfortunately, the consequences were brutal for both racers. Bearman pushed ahead but collected extensive damage and a 10-second penalty, eventually forcing him to retire the car. Pierre Gasly crossed the line in P10, yet his floor took a massive hit that he reckons cost him any shot at challenging Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls for P9.
"I went up his inside, he saw me because he left space but for me it didn't really feel like enough. It was a bit of space but only half a car and by the time I was committed, I wasn't disappearing," Bearman explained of the incident. He was bleeding a second a lap in downforce before the penalty sealed his fate, firmly maintaining that it should have been viewed as a racing incident.
The Haas charger was painfully honest about why he had to roll the dice. With his team struggling to match the pace of midfield rivals like Alpine and Racing Bulls when scraps for minor points are on the line, aggression is the only tool in the box. "To be honest, I don't regret going for the move because at this stage if we don't do something special and get a bit lucky, be a aggressive and go for it, then we're not going to score points because we're not fast enough to do that on merit," Bearman added.
On the other side of the garage, Gasly managed to salvage a point despite the heavy floor trauma. "I'm pleased because after the contact with Ollie, we had quite a big damage on the floor," he said, noting that such a small touch unexpectedly wrecked his aero and cost him 5-10 seconds of race time. He called the lunge a bit optimistic and not the cleanest move, but ultimately took it in stride: "It was not ideal, but at the same time, he tried it."
