Isack Hadjar spins out on Lap 1 of the Chinese Grand Prix right in front of Oliver Bearman – The Haas driver narrowly avoids a serious crash
At the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, an incident on the very first lap caused a moment of panic in the midfield. Isack Hadjar lost control of his Red Bull—right in front of Oliver Bearman, who barely managed to avoid a serious crash
The Haas driver had to swerve abruptly just before the long straight and even drive off the track to avoid a collision. Despite the dramatic moment, Bearman ultimately finished in a strong fifth place.
“I was really lucky,” Bearman said later. “Honestly, I’m just glad to be standing here at all. That could have been a monster crash.”
The incident occurred in the midst of the hectic start phase. Bearman had actually gotten off to a good start and was on a solid first lap when the situation suddenly unfolded in front of him. “I had a really good first lap,” the Brit explained. “Then Isack spun out in front of me and lost control of the car.”
Bearman barely had time to react. “The next moment, he was suddenly sideways,” he described. “I had to make a decision within a tenth of a second.”
The Haas driver instinctively steered left, briefly left the track, and was just able to avoid a collision. The price he paid, however, was high: after the evasive maneuver, he found himself at the back of the pack. “I think I was somewhere around 14th place after that,” said Bearman. “I just thought: This is going to be a long day.”
Hadjar himself also had a hard time explaining the incident. The Frenchman reports that his car suddenly spun out without warning in the critical moment. “It came completely out of the blue,” says Hadjar. “The car just spun out.”
The situation happened so quickly that he could barely react. “I didn’t even have time to countersteer. The thing just spun out and that was it.“ He also struggled with his car’s balance for the rest of the race. ”I struggled with it the whole race,” he admits.
According to Bearman, the cars’ unpredictable behavior also played a role. The strong wind, in particular, made balancing the cars on the Shanghai International Circuit extremely difficult. “That corner was very tricky throughout the entire race,” he explains. “You could feel the wind everywhere on the track today. The balance was constantly changing.”
His impression: Many drivers had to contend with similar problems. “At least I hope so,” says Bearman with a laugh. “In any case, it was pretty difficult for me.”
Despite the early setback, the Haas driver fought his way impressively toward the front as the race progressed—and ultimately even finished in fifth place. “I finished practically at the back of the pack after the first lap in both races this season,” Bearman says, referring to the season opener and Shanghai. “But after that, the race was really fantastic.”
