Oliver Bearman’s big crash headlines Australian GP FP1 as Lando Norris leads the way

Oliver Bearman’s start to the 2025 Formula 1 season took a rough turn as the British rookie crashed out of the first free practice session (FP1) at the Australian Grand Prix. Despite the severity of the crash, Bearman was fortunately cleared by the medical staff at the track. However, his Haas VF-25 suffered significant damage, leaving the team with a race against time to prepare the car for the next session.

With just over 20 minutes left in the session, Oliver Bearman lost control at Turns 9 and 10 after taking too much kerb. His car veered off into the gravel, oversteered upon re-entering the track, and ultimately collided with the wall. At the time of the crash, Bearman was sitting in 18th place, a position that reflected a challenging start to his debut F1 season.

Before the session, Bearman had shared his excitement about testing the car on lower fuel levels for the first time. “I'm excited to see how the car behaves on lower fuel because due to a few issues and problems, I wasn't actually able to do that yet,” Bearman stated. “Going onto a new track, it's quite a different track to Bahrain and seeing how the car jumps onto this track and performance will be important.” He had also expressed hope that the car would respond well to the hot weather conditions in Melbourne, a stark contrast to the cooler temperatures in Bahrain.

The crash resulted in damage to both the front and rear of the VF-25, putting Haas under pressure to repair the car before FP2. This marked Bearman’s first experience driving the car on soft tyres and low fuel levels, factors that may have contributed to the incident.

Meanwhile, Lando Norris topped the session, setting a time of 1:17.252s for McLaren, finishing 0.149 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz, who impressed in his Williams debut after switching from Ferrari. Charles Leclerc secured third for Ferrari, while Lewis Hamilton had a subdued start, finishing 12th in his first race weekend with Ferrari. Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen rounded out the top five, with Verstappen aiming to secure his fifth consecutive drivers’ title this season.
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Despite Bearman’s setback, the session highlighted promising performances from Norris and Sainz, setting the tone for an exciting Australian Grand Prix weekend.