Crash and surprise

A violent accident! F1 rookie wrecks car

The Haas car was completely destroyed.(Bild: AP/Heath McKinley)

Oliver Bearman caused a scare at the Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne. The Haas driver wrecked his car in the first practice session. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz (Williams) made positive headlines.

The practice session had to be interrupted after around 40 minutes. Oliver Bearman had lost control of his Haas and subsequently crashed into the wall. "He wanted to go through the corner extremely fast and missed the apex," ORF expert Alexander Wurz analyzed the violent crash of the Haas driver - you can see it here in the video:

"I'm sorry," Bearman radioed to his crew. The 19-year-old drove a race for Ferrari as a substitute in 2024 and drove the Haas racing car in two Grands Prix. The tall Briton is also a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and is regarded as a great talent, but there is currently no place for him at the Scuderia.

Ferrari and McLaren fast
Meanwhile, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc set the first fastest time in practice on Friday at the start of the new Formula 1 season. The Monegasque lapped the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne in the faster afternoon session in 1:16.439 minutes, ahead of the two McLaren cars of local hero Oscar Piastri (+0.124 seconds) and runner-up Lando Norris (+0.141). Briton Norris had set the fastest time in the first session.

Lando Norris(Bild: AP/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

A big surprise was the second place of Williams man Carlos Sainz in the first practice session.