Haas F1 endures a rough start in Melbourne as Bearman wrecks in FP1 and Ocon struggles at the back in FP2.
Haas F1 had modest expectations after a low-key winter testing, but Melbourne’s first two practice sessions confirmed their struggles. The biggest blow? Oliver Bearman’s crash in FP1.
The young Brit lost control at Turn 10 on his first push lap on soft tires, sliding into the gravel before hitting the wall. The damage was too extensive to repair in time for FP2, leaving him sidelined for the rest of the day.
“I’m really disappointed to have missed all that track time,” Bearman admitted. “The team worked incredibly hard to fix the car, but we just ran out of time. I made a small mistake in Turn 10, ran a bit wide, and with all the bumps, I lost control.”
Despite the setback, he remained optimistic. “I was feeling confident—maybe a bit too much. I was making good progress, but now FP3 will be a long session for me. Heading into qualifying and the race, it’s going to be a bit unpredictable given the lack of laps.”
Reflecting on his mistake, Bearman was self-critical: “I just pushed too much, too soon. In F2, you go straight from FP1 to qualifying, but in F1, you have more time to build up. I overdid it—that’s on me.”
Ocon at the Back, Haas Still Searching for Answers
With Bearman unable to run in FP2, all eyes were on Esteban Ocon. Unfortunately, his session wasn’t much better—he finished 19th, dead last.
“It wasn’t an easy day,” Ocon admitted. “It’s the first day of the season, so these things happen, but we still have a lot of work to do to get everything in sync and unlock the car’s potential.”
“I wasn’t happy with the balance or handling. We made progress from FP1 to FP2, but it’s not enough. Hopefully, we can take another step in FP3 and keep building on it.”
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu summed it up: “It was a tough day. Performance wasn’t where we wanted it to be. We had an idea of the issue in FP1, but Ollie’s crash meant we couldn’t fully understand why we were lacking pace. We need to improve overnight and do our best tomorrow.”
A rocky start for Haas, with more questions than answers.
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