Fourth Place. A Haas Record. Bearman’s Mexico Breakthrough.

Oliver Bearman started ninth and finished ahead of a McLaren, both Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari. One year later, Haas returns to Mexico with a reminder of what one big afternoon can change.

The podium belonged to Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. The next name on the results sheet was the surprise.

Oliver Bearman. Haas. Fourth.

On October 26, 2025, the rookie matched the best Grand Prix finish in Haas’ history, a record Romain Grosjean had established in Austria seven years earlier. Bearman collected 12 points and finished 1.110 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri.

The opportunity came through an untidy opening phase. Keeping it required considerably more.

Ninth to fourth, then the hard part

Bearman gained three places on the opening lap. On lap six, the fight between Hamilton and Verstappen created another opening, and he emerged in fourth. Hamilton’s subsequent pit stop and time penalty moved him into third.

Suddenly, a driver who had qualified ninth was racing among the podium contenders.

Bearman later admitted he had worried that the cars behind would have much more pace. Instead, he was able to maintain his position and build a buffer.

His description afterward captured the balance between opportunity and execution:

“We may have got some luck to get there, but it was our speed that kept us there.”

A little help at the finish

Haas ran Bearman on a two-stop strategy, switching from soft tires to mediums and back to softs. Verstappen’s one-stop race ultimately put the Red Bull ahead.

Behind Bearman, Piastri passed both Mercedes and closed in. A late Virtual Safety Car, triggered by Carlos Sainz stopping, interrupted that pursuit and helped protect fourth.

That matters when judging the result. Bearman benefited from the timing of the neutralization. He had also spent the afternoon keeping Haas in a fight with teams that normally occupied the places ahead.

At the flag, Piastri was fifth, Kimi Antonelli sixth, George Russell seventh and Hamilton eighth. All four had finished behind him.

Twelve points that moved the team

Esteban Ocon added two points for ninth, giving Haas 14 from the race and lifting it to eighth in the constructors’ standings.

Bearman supplied 12 of those 14 points. His fourth place remains both his personal Grand Prix best and Haas’ joint-best finish.

That gives this year’s return a useful reference point. Haas heads toward Mexico seventh on 30 points, only seven ahead of Audi. The 12 points Bearman earned here last year would equal 40 percent of the team’s current total.

That comparison shows the value of a big result. It doesn’t predict another one.

The 2026 cars and competitive order are different, and last year’s pace offers no guarantee. But Mexico demonstrated that Bearman could seize an opening, race under pressure and turn it into a result that changed his team’s position.

Matching fourth would equal the record again. Beating it would put Haas on a Grand Prix podium for the first time.