Haas engineers had to show Oliver Bearman his data to change his mind about 50G Japanese GP crash

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Oliver Bearman suffered a nasty crash that generated around 50Gs of force at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, and had to be shown the telemetry readings from Haas engineers to change his mind from blaming himself for the incident.

On lap 22 of the Japanese Grand Prix, a pivotal safety car was brought out after Oliver Bearman was spotted in the barriers at turn 13.

Replays showed the young British driver losing control of his Haas VF-26 after dipping his front-left wheel onto the grass while attempting an overtake on Franco Colapinto.

Bearman was shown being aided by track marshals as he limped away from the site of the crash, but was later deemed to have not suffered any serious injuries from the shunt.

The incident looked to have been caused by Colapinto’s Alpine F1 car seemingly entering harvest mode during a relatively fast section of the circuit.

The resulting overspeed saw Bearman forced into taking avoiding action, and mechanics from the American constructor reportedly had to prove to him that the incident wasn’t his fault.

• READ MORE: Franco Colapinto reveals what he saw in the cockpit when Oliver Bearman crashed at Japanese GP

Oliver Bearman was ‘blaming himself’ following his crash at the Japanese Grand Prix

During a recap of the Japanese Grand Prix on her official YouTube channel, F1 journalist Julianne Cerasoli touched upon the concerns from drivers over energy harvesting upon their entry into the Spoon curve at Suzuka, as well as Bearman’s reaction to the incident.

She began by highlighting the catalysts for the incident, which proved to be a discrepancy in the way that the software used in Mercedes’ and Ferrari’s power units was designed.

“They reached that section of the track with a 20 km/h difference between them, simply because the engine software was different – the Mercedes engine versus the Ferrari engine,” Cerasoli said.

“So, to use that energy difference and try to overtake there, Bearman pressed the boost, giving him even more power. Gaining even more power, that gap turned into 50 km/h, which is a huge, huge amount.

“And then he was taken by surprise by just how fast he was closing in on Colapinto. He put a wheel on the grass, and then the car went off.”

What do you expect from Oliver Bearman in the 2026 F1 season?

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The Brazilian then highlighted how some members of the grid had questioned the entry into turn 13, adding, “Several drivers had already been drawing attention to this, because on several occasions it had come very close to happening.

“So, they were saying it was only a matter of time before someone lost control there. Bearman came out of the crash blaming himself, saying it was my fault.

“But the team were saying, look, look at the data here, mate. It wasn’t something where you could have expected the gap to be that big.”

• READ MORE: Max Verstappen makes F1 retirement claim as Japanese Grand Prix woes take him beyond ‘frustrated’

The 2026 F1 regulations took another bashing after Oliver Bearman’s crash

The new technical regulations have been under the spotlight since the beginning of the season, and Bearman’s incident only fuelled the flames for those who have previously expressed their dismay over the ruleset.

F1 fans scolded the new regulations after seeing a replay of Bearman’s quick reaction, with some highlighting how it won’t be the last time that a big crash will be caused by the increased demand for energy harvesting with this engine formula.

1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill echoed the concerns of fans, declaring the new crop of cars ‘highly dangerous’ in a furious post on social media.

The FIA have been under massive amounts of pressure in recent weeks over potential amendments to the technical regulations because of the furore that has ensued since the start of the season.

While a drastic change is unlikely to happen this early on in the ruleset, the five-week break before the next race weekend will give the governing body ample time to discuss any amendments they can make.