Ollie Bearman’s highly anticipated full-season debut with Haas hit a disastrous roadblock in Australia, as a heavy shunt in FP1 left his car in no state to continue for the rest of Friday’s action.
After a clean sweep in pre-season testing with zero red flags, Friday’s first practice in Melbourne shattered that streak when Bearman lost control at Turn 10, slamming into the barriers and causing significant damage to his car.
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Despite Haas working furiously in the garage, the car remained up on the stands throughout FP2. In a last-ditch effort, Bearman even jumped into the cockpit in the closing minutes, hoping for at least a single installation lap—but it wasn’t to be.
Explaining the incident, Bearman admitted: “The guys did a great job to try to get the car back out but we just ran out of time. 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.”
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The impact left the right side of his Haas mangled, with the front and rear wheels barely hanging on by the tethers.
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Despite the setback, Bearman remained defiant when asked if the lost track time would haunt him for the rest of the weekend: “It’s not over. I struggled a little bit, but I really felt confident in the car – maybe too much. I really felt at home and nice in the car. It was building up really nicely, and the mistake was unfortunate.”
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With FP3 and Qualifying still ahead, he wasn’t ruling out a comeback: “It’s by no means over. FP3 is a long session and then into qualifying.”
As for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix? With fluctuating forecasts predicting heat for Qualifying but potential rain for race day, Bearman knows anything can happen: “The race will be a bit of a roll of the dice it looks like at the moment.”
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