Oliver Bearman made an error driven by eagerness and inexperience during Free Practice 1, which also compromised the second session, as he was unable to return to the track. The Haas mechanics will have plenty of work to do overnight.
Oliver Bearman’s first season as a full-time Haas and Formula 1 driver has not started in the best way. Forty minutes into the first free practice session, the 19-year-old Briton ran wide at Turn 9, went into the run-off area at Turn 10, and lost control of his VF-25.
The American single-seater, after pendulum-swinging out of the gravel, hit the barriers and came to a stop a few dozen meters further ahead, marking the end of Bearman’s session.
But the worst was yet to come. Despite the Haas mechanics’ best efforts, his VF-25 was not repaired in time to take part in Free Practice 2. As a result, Oliver will have to return to the track tomorrow for Free Practice 3 with one session less than all the other drivers—a significant disadvantage given his limited experience in Formula 1.
“I was feeling good. I think I just wanted too much, too soon, which is my approach but not the right one for Formula 1,” Oliver Bearman explained.
“In F2, you go straight into qualifying after the first practice session, whereas in F1, you have two more practice sessions. So, there’s no need to push to the limit immediately. Maybe I went a bit too far, but it was entirely my mistake.”
“I had too much steering lock on compression at the apex of Turn 10. That sent me wide, and the track surface became uneven because I went into the gravel, and then I lost the car.” – the Ferrari junior added.
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“The gravel is so rough that you completely lose control. There was also grass, asphalt, and a bump, but I had already lost the car by then.”
Ollie Bearman emerged unscathed from the impact, but as mentioned, the VF-25 sustained significant damage, forcing the team’s mechanics to stay late at the circuit to repair it for tomorrow’s session.
Despite his young age, Oliver Bearman had kind words for his mechanics, announcing that after the race on Sunday, he would treat them to some beers to apologize for the extra work they had to do because of his rookie mistake.
“I’m fine physically; it was a light impact, but the car wasn’t as lucky. That’s why I apologize to the team. It would have been nice to at least do an installation lap to check that everything was working for tomorrow.”
“The team did an amazing job working on the car to try to get me back on track today. I can only apologize to them and offer them some beers on Sunday.” – he pointed out.
“They’ve been incredibly busy in recent weeks. They had to build a second car, and now they have to repair the damage, staying late into the night. It’s not ideal. That’s why I apologize to them.” – the Ferrari Driver Academy member concluded.
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