Here’s the thing about a fast machine when the luck finally turns against you: it hurts that much more. Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman both found themselves left to wonder what might have been after a tight qualifying session at the Baku City Circuit, with the Haas pair missing out on Q3 despite a genuine upswing in speed.
Ocon was left absolutely fuming after a yellow flag wrecked his final Q2 run, sticking him down in P14. The Frenchman had looked encouragingly quick earlier in the day, placing P10 in Q1 and showing that progression deeper into the session was well within reach. But when it mattered, the pieces simply refused to fall together.
It always hurts – but today a little bit more. But the only consolation is that I think tomorrow there can be some good opportunities on a track like this.
“Unbelievable,” Ocon said. “We were on for a Q3 lap, the car was working well. We don't have many chances like this when the car is working well. It hasn’t been working throughout the whole season. We improved things, but we had a Q3 car today.”
A gust of wind on his previous effort and then a yellow flag arriving at Turn 15 ruined his momentum. Having to back off on the exit to avoid a penalty cost him three or four tenths, matching his previous lap time and ending any hope of advancing. That blow follows a hint on Wednesday as a free agent that he could be out of a job for next year, compounding a brutal campaign battling the VF-26 and inconsistent aero parts.
“It’s a different race weekend, same s***,” Ocon said. “It’s always something going on on my side, if it’s either the car, if it's something else, now yellow flag, Safety Cars, whatever. But I don’t deserve all the s*** I have on my back at the moment. So, I don’t know. I might need to take a good shower...”
On the other side of the garage, Bearman took a glass-half-full approach to finishing P11, even if the sting of missing the top ten was still raw. The young Briton completed his final run earlier than most, only to get bumped out as rivals circulated later, catching the same yellow flag on his final lap. Still, the overall pace of the car provided some relief.
“It hurts because, of course, it’s been a really good weekend considering that I didn’t run yesterday in FP2, and all of those things mean that actually I think we’re doing very well considering everything,” Bearman said. “It always hurts – but today a little bit more. But the only consolation is that I think tomorrow there can be some good opportunities on a track like this.”
Describing the team's upward trajectory as an invigorating feeling, Bearman pointed out that the machine has felt strong since Monza following the introduction of an update, praising its low-speed performance even if the package bleeds time on the straights. With Ocon starting P14 and Bearman right ahead in P11, both drivers face an uphill battle to turn Sunday's race around.
