Formula 1 rookie Oliver Bearman believes it is “crazy” how much his confidence has changed since Haas brought an upgrade package to the British Grand Prix in July.
The American outfit fitted a revised floor and new sidepod inlets, which made an immediate impact as Bearman recorded his highest qualifying position of the year with eighth.
Although he eventually finished 11th in Sunday's race, largely due to a 10-place grid drop for ignoring red flags in practice, next time out in Belgium he ended an eight-round point-less streak.
Bearman ended his drought by finishing seventh in the sprint race, also his starting position, and could have claimed further points in the grand prix had an engine issue and poor strategy not limited him to 11th.
The 20-year-old nevertheless continued his fine form into Hungary, where he outqualified veteran team-mate Esteban Ocon - but a mechanical failure then ended Bearman’s race.
Yet the improvement of the rookie across the last three race weekends is evident after a tough start to the year, which left Bearman bottom out of the drivers that have raced since the Australia opener.
“I haven't found my confidence until we brought the Silverstone upgrade to the car,” said Bearman, who has eight points in 2025.
“Since then, I've had a really good feeling, and I've been able to replicate that feeling - and that's crazy.
“You can't describe it, but you chase it, you chase it, you chase it and when you can have it, it's very special.”
So, when asked if he thinks the upgrade is a “proper start” to his campaign, Bearman agreed that it was and is optimistic about what he can achieve across the final 10 race weekends.
“It's a car that I feel fully comfortable in,” he added. “Of course, I tried to feel as comfortable as possible in the previous car, but it's difficult when the balance is tough. Now we've managed to replicate that and from now, I think we can do a lot with this car.”
The aim for the rest of 2025 is therefore simple, with Bearman keen to continue his recent momentum and help ninth-placed Haas in a very tight midfield battle.
“I hope we can replicate the feeling that I've had in the previous two races,” said Bearman, who is 19 points behind Ocon.
“In both qualifying and in the race, there's been a few shortcomings from both sides: Silverstone I had a penalty, Spa we simply missed out on opportunities.
“But clearly, the car has pace, so there is a lot of potential there. Step by step, we're going to improve and get better.
"I hope we can keep up this level of performance, and then I think we can score some good points going into the second half of the season.”
