Oliver Bearman has revealed of back issues during the 2025 F1 season due to the generation of cars which resulted in heavy bouncing.
One of the key ailments of the cars in the generation gone by was porpoising. After the initial issue in 2022, the teams were able to trim it down to a good extent, but bouncing never vanished. It hurt the backs of several F1 drivers, who complained about extra work to get their backs sorted.
Often the issue was never shared in the media and only done when the drivers had recovered from a bout of it. Now with the season is done and dusted, F1 rookie Bearman revealed about his struggles during the course of the year in his first full season with Haas.
Having done few odd races in 2024, he didn’t feel as much strain on the back, but with 24 races and six sprint events, it took a toll on his back. He struggled to comfortably sleep at nights and the first couple of the days after the race was challenging for the youngster.
In races, the drivers try to relax on straights after taking hard corners. But due to the bouncing issues, they never get to rest. It affected in concentration as well and he hopes it is better with the 2026 cars. “Yeah, what it’s like when you hurt your back,” said Bearman to media. “It’s just stiffness.
“I mean, I struggle to be comfortable, especially sleeping. It’s challenging the day after a race. And sometimes even two days after the race. When it’s a tough track, like Mexico is a good example, where you have to ride the kerbs. And that is just painful.
“So, you’re really counting down those last 15 laps, you’re really want it to end, because it hurts quite a lot. When normally you have the corners, which is putting you under load, it is the challenging part. Generally you have the straights to regain your breath and regain your concentration.
“But then you’re getting bounced up and down in the straights as well. There’s actually no rest in the race. So, that’s the difficult part. And that’s the part that is horrible. I hope it goes away [in 2026],” summed up Bearman, who felt bouncing was the major problem with his generation of cars.
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