Karun Chandhok left confused by what ‘greedy’ Oliver Bearman did at Sao Paulo Grand Prix

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Oliver Bearman is preparing for a full-time race seat in Formula 1 next season with Haas after a successful junior career.

He has impressed this year in F1, stepping in at race weekends to replace Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia and Kevin Magnussen in Azerbaijan.

Bearman scored points on both outings, taking points for Ferrari at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, despite missing Friday’s practice sessions.

The British driver is competing for Haas at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, at least until the Sprint, as Kevin Magnussen is unwell and unable to race.

Bearman drove well on Friday, adjusting to a new circuit in practice before Sprint qualifying, earning 10th spot.

He made it to SQ3 but made a critical error that confused Karun Chandhok while he was commentating on the session for Sky Sports F1.

Karun Chandhok feels Oliver Bearman should have recharged his battery instead of continuing his flying lap

The margins are so fine in Formula 1 that even the smallest of errors can make a significant difference over a lap.

Bearman showed good pace, which was a good step as he hadn’t driven on the track previously in any category.

He was looking to improve his lap time in the closing stages of the top 10 shootout but made a critical error when he put the power down at Turn 2.

READ MORE: Ferrari will offer Haas 21-point F1 driver if they need to call up Oliver Bearman next season

Bearman ran wide onto the kerb which lost him time in the first sector of the lap, and he couldn’t recover in the final part of the track.

Chandhok feels Bearman should have backed off rather than looking for improvement as he could have recharged his batteries, and had another timed lap.

He said: “He got greedy on the throttle at the apex of the second part, the right hander, and that put him out wide. I don’t know why he didn’t bail out of it, because actually, it had happened in turn two.

“He could have bailed out of it then, recharged the battery all the way around, and he would have had time because his middle sector is good. I think that’s a bit of a mistake there. He could have abandoned it and gone again.”

Oliver Bearman’s time in Formula 1 hasn’t been absolutely faultless

Bearman’s mistake at the end of qualifying for the Sprint cost him time and a chance to usurp Alex Albon to ninth place.

He performed admirably despite the error, qualifying higher up the grid for the Sprint than his more experienced teammate Nico Hulkenberg.

Bearman was involved in an incident last time out with Albon in practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix which damaged the car.

He has made very few errors during his appearances in F1, showing good speed and promising signs ahead of his first full season in 2025.