Formula 1 returned to Shanghai International Circuit for the Chinese Grand Prix, a track offering twisting corners and boasting one of the longest straights on the calendar - a perfect recipe for wheel-to-wheel racing. The weekend also marked the first Sprint event of the season, bringing with it a 100km Saturday dash and extra points up for grabs.
After a strong start to the season in Australia, where Ollie secured P7, the goal in China was to build momentum. With two top ten qualifying performances across the weekend, the stage was set - but how far could he climb?
Practice
With the Sprint format in play, there was only one practice session for teams and drivers to dial in their setups before competitive running began. Ollie approaches the session with focus, logging 28 laps around the 5.451km circuit while gathering valuable data and adjusting to the evolving track conditions. By the end of the session, he sat in P7 - a promising start ahead of Sprint Qualifying and an early indication that the pace was there.
Sprint Qualifying
Bringing its own drama, SQ1 saw Ollie pushing hard on his final lap, briefly dipping a wheel into the gravel on the last corner. It was a tense moment, but Ollie held the lap together and safely progressed into SQ2.
Confidence growing, he delivered a strong second lap in the next session, jumping up to P8 and securing a place in SQ3. The final shootout was short and sharp - just eight minutes with all drivers running new Soft tyres. In a tight session, Ollie placed the car P9, putting himself firmly inside the top ten for the Sprint.
Sprint Race
Starting the 100km Sprint from ninth, Ollie wasted no time in breaking through the pack following a strong launch and clean opening lap. By the end of Lap 3, he was running P7, firmly fighting for points.
On Lap 11, Liam Lawson managed to slip past Ollie, but he remained inside the top eight (the Sprint points positions). The race then took another turn when Niko Hulkenberg stopped on Lap 13, bringing out the Safety Car. It was here that several front-runners decided to pit, but Bearman stayed out, vaulting himself up to P6.
When racing resumed, his older tyres began to show their age, leaving him under pressure from drivers on fresher rubber. Despite this, Ollie battled hard to hold position and kept himself in the points, crossing the line in P8, four tenths ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Qualifying
The momentum continued into Grand Prix Qualifying when, in Q1, teams experimented with both soft and medium compound tyres. Ollie opted for Softs, showing good pace and getting into Q2, where the pace remained strong, putting the car in P8. In Q3, Ollie locked in P10, giving him a strong starting position for Sunday’s race.
The Race
Race day in Shanghai can prove a strategic puzzle. While a one-stop strategy is typically favoured, tyre degradation can be high, making Hard tyres the compound of choice for many teams. Technical problems saw both McLarens absent from the grid for the start of the race, meaning Ollie had seven cars ahead of him instead of nine when the race began.
In the opening lap, Ollie found himself in a tight battle with Isack Hadjar, who went into a spin, Bearman reacting instantly and running wide to avoid a collision, before rejoining in P12 - quick thinking that prevented what could have been a race-ending collision for both drivers.
By Lap 9, the race began to settle into a rhythm, and Ollie started to build momentum again. Running in P11, he set his sights on Verstappen ahead, making a decisive move on Lap 10 to break into the points, just moments before Stroll’s Aston Martin stopped on track, prompting a Safety Car and an opportunity to pit without losing as much time.
Rejoining in P10, the charge continued. By Lap 16, Ollie had climbed to P8, quickly closing in on Arvid Lindblad ahead. Two laps later, he passed for P7, before turning his attention to his teammate, Ocon, and Colapinto - both yet to stop. Sliding into P5 on Lap 22, Ollie held position well. He crossed the line in P5, collecting a valuable 10 points for himself and the team.
Looking Ahead
After just two races, Ollie’s start to the season has been impressive - already collecting almost half of the points he got in the whole of the 2025 season. Ollie sits P5 in the Drivers’ Championship and has played a key part in getting the team to P4 in the Constructors' standings in a fantastic start to the new season. Next up: Japan.
