Bearman suffers second Australian practice disaster

Rookie Haas driver Oliver Bearman's final practice session lasted less than three minutes before disaster struck again.

Bearman suffered a frightful Friday on his first day as a full-time F1 driver - following three stand-in drives in 2024 - when he crashed after 37 minutes of the first practice session of the season.

Sliding off track and into the gravel at Turn 10 of Melbourne's Albert Park, Bearman's return to the circuit saw him put the power back down, only to force him into a spin before hitting a wall hard.

The resultant damage to the car, notably to the right-hand side, led to an engine and gearbox change, and missing all of FP2.

The 19-year-old was first out of the garage at the start of final practice but on his first push lap, approaching Turn 11, it appeared as if Bearman put the left-rear wheel onto the grass.

Coming out of the corner, Bearman spun again, this time careering backwards into a gravel trap where he beached the car.

The incident immediately led to the session being red-flagged, with nine minutes lost overall. So far, Bearman has completed just 13-and-a-half laps.

Bearman's Haas was at least collected by a low-loader, but he failed to return to the track.