SUZUKA, Japan — Ollie Bearman escaped a terrifying crash in Formula 1’s 2026 Japanese Grand Prix without any major injuries, despite recording a 50G impact.

Bearman, 20, crashed on Lap 22 of the 53-lap race at Suzuka when closing on Alpine driver Franco Colapinto toward the Spoon curve, one of the fastest points of the circuit.

Going significantly quicker than Colapinto — around 28mph, according to Sky Sports pundit Bernie Collins — Bearman moved to the left of the track in a bid to avoid the Alpine, only to then slide onto the grass and lose control of his car.

Bearman’s Haas went careering through the polystyrene marker boards on the grass, back across the track in front of Colapinto and it then smashed into the barrier on the outside, resulting in the safety car being deployed to neutralize the race.

After getting out of his wrecked car, Bearman was seen on TV cameras walking gingerly as a marshal aided him behind the barriers, before he then sat on the ground.

The British driver was taken to the track’s medical center, where Haas confirmed he underwent an X-ray to check for any fractures. This came back clear. A team spokesperson said Bearman had sustained “a right knee contusion following the impact,” but was alert and communicating.

Here’s the moment Bearman went into the barriers at Spoon #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/XmurXApWkp

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 29, 2026

Bearman was subsequently cleared by the medical center team and granted dispensation by the FIA to skip post-race media duties.

The incident is likely to revive the debate over the sudden differences in closing speeds between the new F1 cars in 2026, which can vary depending on whether the engine on a car ahead is recharging its engine battery.

In this case, it appeared that Colapinto’s car was harvesting energy, slowing it on the run toward Spoon, while Bearman was using his electric energy to try to overtake.

“He just had a huge closing speed against Colapinto, so he had to take avoiding action. He went on the grass and crashed. (It was) scary,” Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu told Sky Sports during the race.

Asked whether he thought that Colapinto may have moved late in defense, Komatsu replied: “No. I think the main thing is just the closing speed,  which was huge.”

Several drivers have previously warned of the risk of a major accident due to the speed differences with these cars.

At the Australian Grand Prix earlier this month, reigning world champion Lando Norris said: “It is chaos. We are going to have a big accident, which is a shame because we are driving and the ones just waiting for something to happen and to go quite horribly wrong. That is not a nice position to be in.”