Bearman apologises to Haas for ‘messy’ weekend in Australia as woes continue with Q1 exit

Haas rookie Ollie Bearman “could only apologise” to the team after his nightmare Australian Grand Prix weekend continued with a Q1 exit – describing the event as a “messy” one so far.

Bearman, who has stepped up to F1 full-time after several stand-in drives for Ferrari and Haas last season, made the worst possible start at Albert Park on Friday with a heavy crash exiting the high-speed Turn 9/10 chicane during first practice.

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Given the extent of the damage, and a required power unit change, Bearman was unable to make it back out on track in second practice – adding to the importance of his FP3 session on Saturday morning.

However, only a few minutes into that final hour of practice, Bearman lost control of his car again – this time under braking for Turn 11 – and ended up in the gravel trap, meaning he headed into Qualifying with just 13 laps under his belt.

Then, as he left the garage in Q1, Bearman reported apparent gearbox issues over the radio, forcing him back to the pits, where he would remain to the chequered flag and drop out of proceedings in 20th and last.

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Asked to reflect on his early Qualifying exit, and the weekend so far, the teenager said: “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.”

Turning his attention to Sunday’s race, where rain is expected to play its part, he commented: “I think tomorrow will be interesting, anyway, and we can put it to bed.”

With team mate Esteban Ocon also falling at the first Qualifying hurdle, Bearman admitted “as a team we’ve struggled a little bit” in Melbourne – and apologised for the part he has played with his limited running.

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“I haven’t run all weekend,” he added. “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.”