Haas driver Oliver Bearman has apologised to his team after crashing out of his first practice session as a full time Formula 1 driver ahead of the Australian Grand Prix
The British star is preparing for his first proper F1 season having been signed by Haas – having enjoyed brief stints with the team and also raced for Ferrari last year.
But the 19-year-old suffered the worst possible start to life with Haas after making a mistake on turn 10 during the practice session in Melbourne, with his car spinning into a wall after he moved onto the gravel.
Bearman admitted it had been a “messy weekend” but made a point of saying sorry to his team after being left with just one car to drive for their preparations.
“It’s a bit disappointing, of course, to not be able to get a lap on the board, but it’s been a messy weekend so far,” he said. “I haven’t run all weekend. That’s made it tough for the guys to actually understand [what’s happening], as we’ve been running with one car all weekend. I can only apologise to the team for that.”
Bearman candidly admitted it could be a difficult weekend for himself on his full F1 race debut, saying the Australian Grand Prix would be a “a roll of the dice”.
“I just had a small mistake at Turn 10, which put me a bit wide and out there it’s very bumpy and I, unfortunately, lost the car,” he later explained. “The race will be a bit of a roll of the dice it looks like at the moment.”
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AFP via Getty Images)
Commentating on the incident, Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle said: “He just missed the apex, ran wide. I think he didn’t recognise that early enough, was probably a bit too gung-ho and thought he would rescue that one. It was a little bit over-confident, and it will have knocked some of that confidence.”
Sky Sports pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz claimed Haas had been forced to change the gearbox and engine after both suffered damage. Drivers can only use a certain amount of those components in one a season, which means Bearman could be in for a penalty later in the year.
Bearman’s difficult moment comes after he spoke about his desire to become an F1 star and his struggles of being away from friends and family while on the circuit. He said: “I lost all of my friends pretty much in the UK.
“It’s an unfortunate aspect of life but if that was the thing that got me to F1 I would give it up in a heartbeat every single time. I would have moved away five years earlier if it guaranteed me a seat in F1. There’s no length, there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do to get to F1, there’s nothing stopping me.”
