Ollie Bearman suffered a right knee contusion in a frightening 50G crash in the middle of Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix, having swerved to avoid Franco Colapinto’s Alpine. 

On lap 22 of 53, Bearman was caught out by a sizeable closing speed to Colapinto on the entry into the Spoon curve, taking to the grass and spearing into the barriers on the outside of the corner.

That triggered a safety car and marked the first incident of a grand prix that had essentially run incident-free to that point.

Bearman was visibly limping right after the crash and had an X-ray at the medical centre after the crash.

He didn't suffer any fractures from the 50G crash, was alert and communicating, but does have a contusion (bruising) on his right knee.

It appears to be the first major example of something the likes of McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has warned about - the rapid closing speeds 2026’s style of racing can create.

“A huge closing speed to car in front, he had to take avoiding action, scary,” Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said to Sky.

Asked if Colapinto had moved too late, Komatsu said:  “No, the main thing is the closing speed [which is] huge.”

The Spoon Curves are a ‘zero kilowatt’ zone where drivers can switch to no MGU-K power, so it is potentially the highest speed differential that would be experienced at Suzuka if the lead car is cutting down to 0kW with the chasing car using boost.

Colapinto ran wide when Bearman went into the barriers, but he emerged unscathed from the incident.

The stewards reviewed the incident and quickly determined no further action was necessary.