Haas F1’s Oliver Bearman departed Suzuka Circuit having accomplished all that he set out to in a guest appearance at Friday’s Super Formula rookie test day.
Through the strategic alliance between Haas and Toyota Gazoo Racing that was unveiled earlier this year, Bearman was able to drive around the famous figure-eight circuit in Japan ahead of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix in April. He got to drive one of KCMG’s two Toyota-powered Dallara SF23s — specifically, the car that was driven by Toyota’s WEC ace Kamui Kobayashi.
The 19-year-old British driver gave ringing endorsements to both the circuit and the car after 43 laps around Suzuka.
“I had so much fun. My first time in Suzuka, and I was really happy to run here,” Bearman said. “It’s a very high-speed track, and the Super Formula car was amazing to drive as well.
“It’s much lighter than Formula 2, but the chassis is the same. The dimensions are very similar but the car is much lighter. So definitely in slow-speed corners, you feel it’s much more agile. The Super Formula is a bit slower on the straights because there is no DRS in Super Formula, but in the corners, the downforce is impressive — I could dance with that car today.
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“Compared to F1, of course, it’s a bit slower. But the thing that impressed me the most about the Super Formula is the cornering ability. It’s very agile. The change of direction is very fast. It’s much, much lighter than a Formula 1 car. Of course, we are missing a bit of downforce overall, but the driving style is very similar to Formula 1. It just feels like a Formula 1 without DRS, so it’s really, really nice.”
Because he’d driven three races in F1 already as a relief driver for Ferrari and Haas, Bearman could no longer take part in the young driver tests at Abu Dhabi after the season. But he could take part in Super Formula’s last day of a three-day official test, alongside other rookie drivers hoping to land a full-time seat in the Japanese series in the near future.
His time behind the wheel was productive, despite a minor mechanical issue in his No. 7 KCMG Dallara-Toyota, and any apprehension he might have had trying to communicate with his Japanese engineers quickly dissipated as both parties communicated in fluent English.
“For sure, it’s been a great test – really useful. I’m sad that I didn’t get to to do all of the laps that I wanted. We had a small issue in the afternoon with the turbo, which failed. But still, I learned what I needed to, and I definitely have a bit more experience going into the race next year.”
His best time from the Friday morning session was a 1m36.940s, 1.4s behind the fastest time of the week set by six-year Super Formula veteran (and fellow F2 alumnus) Tadasuke Makino. But Bearman feels that he could have extracted more pace without the turbo problem in the afternoon.
“I didn’t really get to push flat-out with new tires in the afternoon, but I still learned the track, which was the main goal of this test,” he noted. “When I come back next year for the F1 race, I’ll be in a much better position.”
With all three days of testing open to spectators, Japanese fans turned out by the hundreds starting Thursday morning when Bearman arrived, hoping to meet one of Formula 1’s newest full-time stars to get an autograph or a photo, or both.
“The fan turnout for a test was the best I’ve ever seen,” Bearman recalled. “I’ve never seen so many people for a test day, and their support has been incredible. They were so kind and respectful, giving me little gifts and really taking time to see me. It was really a special feeling and I was happy to give them as much time and photographs and autographs as I could.
“Big thanks to Toyota that I’m here. I have to say a huge thank you to them for helping me to get this test and make it a possibility. It was definitely a big push for me when I knew it was an option and a possibility.
“I’m very excited to continue working with them into next year. This has been the start of hopefully a great partnership.”