David Croft fears £300k-a-year F1 driver is already ‘broken’ after three-word Australian Grand Prix radio

The first Formula 1 qualifying session of the 2025 season is in the books. Lando Norris took pole position in a McLaren one-two.

It was a dream start for the Woking outfit as they look to retain the constructors’ title and take the drivers’ crown from Max Verstappen. But further down the grid, there were several disappointments.

Lewis Hamilton sounded baffled on the radio after Ferrari ended up seventh and eighth. His replacement at Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli, exited in Q1.

Mercedes announced that Antonelli was carrying damage, so couldn’t show his true speed. Likewise, Liam Lawson missed FP3 through a power unit problem prior to his immediate elimination.

Sergio Perez fans mocked Lawson, Max Verstappen’s new teammate. But Red Bull will preach patience.

Last place belongs to another driver starting their first full season, Oliver Bearman. The Haas driver wasn’t even able to set a lap time during qualifying.

David Croft concerned for Oliver Bearman amid Australian Grand Prix woes

Bearman has endured a nightmare weekend in Melbourne thus far. He hit the wall during FP1, causing significant damage to his Haas car.

With an engine and gearbox replacement required, Bearman missed the entirety of second practice. He then spun out in the early minutes of FP3, beaching his car in the gravel.

At the start of qualifying, the teenager reported a gearbox problem, and Haas weren’t able to find a solution. Sky Sports commentator David Croft expressed immense sympathy.

“Ollie Bearman pulls into the pit lane,” he observed. “If he wasn’t having bad luck this weekend, he’d have no luck whatsoever.

“The start of his first full season is not exactly going to plan. That’s the biggest understatement of the weekend so far.

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Bearman, who earns £300k a year at Haas, confirmed that his session was over by saying: “No it’s broken.”

Croft then responded: “And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a bit broken at the end of this weekend as well. That is awful, awful luck. What could go wrong has gone wrong this weekend.”

Oliver Bearman details the physical problem he faces in first Haas F1 appearances

It’s possible – though unconfirmed at this stage – that Bearman’s Friday crash caused lasting damage. Failures are exceedingly rare with this generation of cars.

Ayao Komatsu will be confident of a response from Bearman, who was magnificent as a stand-in driver last season. His bigger concern will be the team’s overall lack of pace, with teammate Esteban Ocon six-tenths shy of the time he needed to progress.

Jenson Button says a crash is ‘the worst thing’ for an F1 rookie, and with Sunday’s Grand Prix set to be wet, Bearman will head to China with hardly any representative running under his belt.

Bearman’s ‘long neck’ is causing him problems even after pre-season training. It’s not necessarily the biggest limitation in Australia, but it will be when he gets to Japan next month.