Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying was red-flagged with 11 minutes left on the clock in Q2 on Saturday after Esteban Ocon suffered a high-speed crash on the exit of Turn Two. The Frenchman was carrying the banner for Haas in Q2 after team-mate Oliver Bearman finished slowest of all in Q1, but the 28-year-old’s session came to an abrupt end when he lost control on the exit kerb at Turn Two.

Ocon’s loss of control sent his VF-25 machine spinning to the left, and he collided hard with the outside wall. The Haas driver’s machine then came to rest in the gravel pit with significant damage.

After confirming that he was okay on the radio, Ocon received some reassurance from race engineer Laura Mueller. His crash brought an end to Haas’ involvement in qualifying on a day in which Ayao Komatsu hoped to see a car in Q3.

Assessing the impact, Sky Sports F1 co-commentator Martin Brundle expressed immediate concern. “That’s a tough old angle he’s gone in there,” he said. “You can see how quickly the car stopped once it hit the barrier. That tells you how much energy has dissipated.”

Brundle then explained the events that led to the impact: “He was on all the right bits of the race track, it looked all under control, but he upshifted, gets a torque spike, and as he was trying to wrestle it, it went around.”

Despite the costly crash, Komatsu and Haas have been impressed with Ocon’s impact since arriving from Alpine over the winter. A fifth-place finish in Shanghai contributed 10 of the team’s 15 points thus far in 2025.

“Really, again, his work ethic [impressed us],” Komatsu explained when asked about Ocon’s qualities. “We know he’s quick. He’s a proven quantity. He’s a race finisher, scored so many points, but he’s still very young and very determined for more success in Formula One. He’s someone that we can grow together with.

“Especially when we have a car problem like we had in Melbourne, to have a driver like that fully integrated into the team, driving the engineers – doesn’t matter how much time he needs to spend with them – he’s really eager to improve it together. That makes a huge difference for the team. So that’s what I expected and that’s exactly what we are seeing. Very pleased about that.