Bearman shares amusing story behind his failed driving test

Ollie Bearman has shared the story of how he failed his first attempt at passing his driving test, with the Briton joking that he made a “typical racing driver” error.

While Bearman’s fellow F1 rookie Kimi Antonelli only recently obtained his road car licence – with drivers having to be at least 18 years of age in the Mercedes racer's native Italy – Bearman was able to take his test at 17 in the United Kingdom.

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However, as the new Haas driver explained to media at the F1 75 Live season launch event in London on Tuesday, his first try did not go entirely to plan.

When asked if he had passed his driving test, Bearman responded: “Luckily, I passed it a few years ago, since you can pass at 17 here, not 18 like in Italy. I did pass second time… I shouldn’t have told you that!

“I didn’t stop at a stop sign! But I didn’t blow it, I slowed down. I was crawling, but you’re meant to stop. We don’t have those on racetracks, so that was my first sighting of a stop sign!

“Typical me or typical probably racing driver, I thought I could pass my test without any lessons, so that’s probably where I went wrong. After that I took a few lessons before the second one! But yeah, I’ve been driving since 2022 now, so very experienced driver here.”

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While Bearman is now well accustomed to driving on the roads, the 19-year-old is still a rookie in Formula 1 as he prepares for his first full-time season in the sport off the back of his three super-sub appearances in 2024.

In terms of what expectations Haas have for him in the campaign ahead – and if he has any for himself – Bearman commented: “I’m not sure what they have in terms of expectations towards me but I’m very harsh on myself, so I’m sure my ones are good enough I’d say.

“I haven’t got any position-based expectations, as of course it’s impossible to make that statement here before the car’s even run in anger on track, so we’ll wait for that to happen and see where we stand in Australia.

“My main goals for the season are just to learn as much as I can, build up from race to race, have a lot of discipline and work hard, and I think the most important thing that is easily overlooked is I really want to enjoy it.

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“I’m living my dream here and I’m very lucky to be here – you only get one rookie season, you only get one debut, so I’m going to really enjoy it and I think that’s a good mindset to have and a good way to really maximise the performance from a personal standpoint.”

After Haas unveiled their 2025 livery during F1 75 Live, the team will join the rest of the field for pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit from February 26-28.