Ollie Bearman sustains big crash in practice for Haas on F1 full-time debut at Australian GP

Ollie Bearman escaped unharmed after a heavy crash in practice at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old, making his full-time F1 debut with Haas after three races as a reserve last year, lost control of his car coming out of the high-speed turn 10 section.

His car entered the gravel after a snap of oversteer, before the car spun into the wall with one tyre coming loose from the car.

Bearman, who hails from Chelmsford in Essex, quickly let his race engineer that he was OK, before adding: “I’m sorry.”

The crash stopped the first practice session in Melbourne for 10 minutes, with Carlos Sainz topping the timesheets for Williams.

Bearman, who impressed for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia last year before two more appearances for Haas, told The Independent ahead of the new season of his ambitions to become a F1 world champion in the future.

“My ultimate goal is to have a very long career in F1,” he said.

“It’s my ultimate passion and I know how lucky I am to be in this situation. I want to prove that I deserve it and, ultimately, I want to become a world champion.

“But my future at the moment lies with Haas and my main goal now is to just drive fast and deliver great results.

“And from there? Let’s see where that brings us.”

More to follow…