The Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi often decides Formula 1 titles, celebrating stories and marking the end of chapters. As the 2025 season reached its grand finale under the floodlights, and with the Drivers’ Championship still to be decided, could Ollie Bearman end his first full season in F1 on a high?
Practice
The weekend began with a scare. Early in FP1, Ollie reported a sudden loss of power, followed by word from his engineer that the car had developed a leak. Thankfully, the issue was quickly resolved in the garage, and once back on track, Ollie immediately showed what he had to offer. Climbing up the order with a strong pace, Ollie finished the first practice session in P8.
Later on Friday in FP2, that pace got even better. Running the soft compound tyres and feeling the car come alive around him, Ollie’s radio message declaring that the car felt ‘insane’ said everything. He ended the stunning session in P4, among the quickest on track and looking sharper than ever.
FP3 rounded off one of his strongest practice sessions of the year. Confident, composed and consistently quick, Ollie finished the final practice of the year in P7.
Qualifying
Qualifying at Yas Marina is always tight and this year was no exception. On soft tyres in Q1, Ollie found himself in the heart of the action; at one stage, just 0.008 seconds separated the top three drivers, with Ollie right there between the Mercedes of George Russell and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri.
Into Q2, Ollie took to the track early, determined to put in a lap time even before conditions evolved. Times swung wildly across the grid, and despite a strong pace, ultra-fine margins kept him out of Q3. Ollie would line up P11 for the season finale - close enough to smell the points he was aiming to finish his season with.
The Race
As the sun set and the desert cooled, Abu Dhabi hosted the final showdown of 2025. Starting P11 on medium tyres, Ollie lost a place on the opening lap but quickly settled into a rhythm. Early in the race, Ollie was investigated for ‘driving erratically’ with Liam Lawson, but ultimately avoided a penalty.
His first stop dropped him to P18, but the fightback was on. By Lap 33, Ollie was up to P13 and, as drivers around him came into the Pits, Ollie gained track position - P10 by Lap 34.
Right behind his teammate, Ocon, the Haas pair had Bortoleto’s Sauber ahead by Lap 39. By Lap 45, Ollie was running P9, and that is exactly where he crossed the finish line at the end of the final race of his rookie season.
After the chequered flag, the stewards handed Ollie a five-second penalty for more than one change of direction in a defensive battle with the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll. The ruling dropped him from P9 to P12, stripping him of the points he had fought so hard for. Ollie also received another penalty point on his racing license, bringing his total to 10 of the allowed 12 points going into the 2026 season.
Looking Ahead
Despite the post-race penalty, Ollie ended his first full Formula 1 season with his head held high. He finished P13 in the Drivers' Championship with 41 points and his results were instrumental in lifting Haas to P8 in the Constructors’ standings.
From stunning qualifying performances to five consecutive points-scoring races, 2025 has been the year Ollie Bearman announced himself properly into Formula 1 - fast, brave, composed under pressure and constantly improving.
