Ollie Bearman: two crashes and questions for the Haas rookie

The most seasoned had praised the young Brit’s merits after his 3 Grand Prix in 2024. The most experienced rookie compared to those who had never raced. And yet, his debut with Haas was closer to disaster than dazzling. Two off-track incidents, including a major crash in the first practice session. Millions of euros in damages for Haas, already lacking in performance.

2 mistakes that cost a lot

« I just wanted to do a little too much, too quickly » said Ollie Bearman after his accident in FP1. Disappointed and frustrated after his big crash, preventing him from participating in the second practice session. An overly aggressive weekend attack from the young British driver, who paid the price for his over-commitment.

This Saturday, he was back for FP3 after 24 hours without driving. And once again, Bearman overdid it. At the beginning of the session, he had another mishap. At turn 11, he went wide and ended up in the gravel trap. Red flag. Although the off-track excursion was less significant than the day before, it seriously damaged the young Briton’s confidence. 2 mistakes in 3 practice sessions. Already too many.

He approached the journalists’ microphones in the interview area with a closed expression, very sad. « Yes, it’s a bit disappointing, of course, not to be able to gain an advantage on the scoreboard, but it has been a mess this weekend so far. I think tomorrow will be interesting anyway, and then we can finally put an end to this. »

Putting an end to this nightmare is the wish of Oliver Bearman, who feels a strong sense of guilt. « I think as a team, we’ve had a bit of a hard time and, obviously, I didn’t drive over the weekend, which made the weekend difficult for everyone and also for understanding. Only one car was on track this weekend, so I can only apologize to the team for that. »

Spinning into the gravel in third practice 😢

An unfortunate moment for Ollie Bearman puts him on the backfoot 👇#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/qlmEzralMD

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 15, 2025

The consequences for Haas

For the American team, Ollie Bearman’s off-track exits are not happening at the right time. After dull winter tests with no performance, Haas has had a complicated start in Australia. All this is exacerbated by the troubles of their new British driver. These events do not help the team in acquiring data, which is so important when a team is seeking performance.

Ayao Komatsu, the Team Principal of the team, acknowledged a rather difficult day. The economic consequences of these accidents are also not going to help the American team. The damages are estimated at over one million euros. It’s only the first Grand Prix of a long year.

The next step for Ollie Bearman

The British driver will start last in the Grand Prix. Two advantages: he will have no one behind him and in front, it will be Lawson, Antonelli, and Doohan present. This provides an opportunity to fight right from the start to regain confidence against other struggling rookies. But be cautious. The risk for Bearman would be making another fatal mistake. A third crash would be difficult to digest for him and especially for Haas.

He must rely on his strengths and not try to do too much, as in free practice sessions. With Haas’s lack of performance, there probably won’t be much at stake for the American team in this first Grand Prix of the season. Ollie Bearman should take this opportunity to regain confidence. Because it’s important not to ruin everything right from the start of the journey.