Bearman owns up to FP1 crash: 'It's totally on me'
Today at 06:51 AM
Ollie Bearman's opening practice in Melbourne took a bruising turn on Friday when the young Briton smashed his Haas into the wall during FP1 at Albert Park.
With just over 20 minutes left in the session, the 19-year-old rookie veered wide at Turns 9 and 10, chewing too much kerb before skidding across gravel and slamming into the barrier. T
The crunch triggered a red flag, and while Bearman fortunately walked away unscathed, his VF-25 wasn't so lucky.
The Haas crew scrambled to patch it up, but the damage sidelined him for FP2, leaving him to watch from the garage as the day slipped away.
Reflecting on the mishap, Bearman owned up with a sheepish grin.
"The feeling was good. I think just wanting a bit too much, too soon – which is kind of my approach, which isn't really the right one for F1."
Overeager and Out of Control
Bearman suggested that his F2 instincts got the better of him and led to his rookie misstep.
"In F2 you go straight to quali after the first practice session and in F1 you have two more, so there's no need to be straight on the limit.
Maybe I overdid it slightly, but it's totally on me," he admitted, pinpointing the moment it all went south.
"Just a bit too much steering lock over the compression at the apex of 10, which sent me wide, and it's quite bumpy out there. I just lost it.
"Once you're in the gravel it's so bumpy and there is asphalt, grass, bumps and I was already out of it, but once you're there, honestly, there is no more control, unfortunately.
"It was a small hit, just not great for the car,"
What started as a bold push ended in a helpless slide – a harsh lesson on Melbourne's unforgiving edges.
Apologies and A Debt to the Crew
"So, yeah, my apologies to the team," he said, ruing the lost laps. "It would have been nice just to do an install and check everything, make sure everything was OK for tomorrow."
©Haas
Both Haas garages rallied to resurrect his car, but time ran out.
"The guys did an amazing job, both sides of the garage helping me out to try and get me back on track. I can only apologise to them, and I owe them a few beers on Sunday," he said, tipping his hat to their efforts.
"They've had a busy few weeks starting out with everything, building up the second car now, and to have the damage so early on and to put them back to work and give them a long evening is not really good enough. So, yeah, I can only apologise to them."
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