Oliver Bearman offers blunt response to crucial F1 rule change

Oliver Bearman believes there are "better ways of achieving the same thing" as the qualifying rule change the FIA has implemented for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Because Suzuka is a power-hungry and harvest-poor circuit, extreme levels of lift and coast and super clipping were anticipated during the grid-setting session.

To remedy the potential issue, the motorsport governing body has reduced the recharge limit from 9.0 megajoules (MJ) to 8.0 MJ, something that should make energy management less severe.

Charles Leclerc does not feel the steps taken will be a "game-changer", and Bearman was quick to point out that, if anything, it will further slow the cars down in qualifying.

Speaking to media, including RacingNews365, the Haas driver said: "I mean, it's just making us even slower. On one hand, we don't have to do any lift and coast any more, which is probably a bit better for us...

"We still have to recharge the energy, and we spend a lot of time just with no energy because we’re losing one megajoule compared to what we had on the sim and prior to coming here. I think there are better ways of achieving the same thing."

The Briton argued that increasing the ability to super clip up to the full 350kW limit would be a better option, which is something the FIA trialled during testing, with the current parameter set at 250kW to lift and coast's 350.

"If we could harvest at negative 350 kilowatts while on full throttle, I think it would make everyone's lives a bit easier," Bearman explained. "But this is also a solution, I guess."

Difficulties in China

Whilst some drivers are beginning to voice positive views on racing under the new regulations, qualifying remains a problem for the FIA to grapple with.

Bearman highlighted the counterintuitive nature of not being able to attack one lap at full tilt, with it often penalising a driver later in the lap.

"I think there have been some moments where, for example in China, we went through the whole of qualifying and actually on my final lap I did all of my best corners, but I actually went slower by like two tenths because sometimes actually going faster in the corners and picking up throttle earlier, it confuses the car and you end up losing outright lap time, which is really strange," the 20-year-old said.

"Even sometimes there are some corners, not many, but one or two corners per track, where if you go on throttle and then lift and return to throttle, it just messes up everything.

"It can be three per cent off throttle, and that can finish your lap basically. It happened to me in China, and I lost two tenths down the back straight, and I was so confused...

"So, it's tough because I think what they've tried to do to help us is already starting this weekend, but it's tough because the way that we’ve always driven, you push more and more throughout qualifying, and you get to that final run, you try to get everything out of it, and it ends up being slower.

"Actually, you're better off just driving at 99 per cent and doing consistent laps, which is a bit against our nature. It's something we're having to adjust to."

With the power units heavily dependent on software, when a driver does something it is not expecting, like pushing more than anticipated on a qualifying lap, the code can get confused, and it can ultimately end up costing lap time.

Conversely, if a driver takes too much of a lift, it can also throw the power unit off kilter. It is something that happened to Leclerc at the Shanghai International Circuit. It has raised the case for more driver involvement and less software-dependent power units.

"Yeah, that's an extreme case," Bearman, who uses the same Ferrari power unit in his VF-26, said when Leclerc's situation was alluded to. "It's not going to be the case at every track and every corner.

"There are those corners, there's one more or less on every track, where you have to be a bit careful and sometimes drive under the limit, but still, that's not what we want to do as drivers, particularly in qualifying.

"Normally, the faster you drive around the corner, the faster your lap time is, and if that's not the case, it feels a bit strange. I don't know what changes are needed; I'm not an engineer, but I think we can do better with what we have, and I hope that this weekend is already a step in that direction.

"Then, even just giving a bit more flexibility on the software side of things, for example, this minus 350[kW] at full throttle, I think that would feel better as well, just as a starting point.

"But the FIA have been incredibly receptive, so I think just continuing to work together with them, we're going to make good progress."