LONDON: Haas Formula One rookie Oliver Bearman gave hope to learner drivers around the world on Tuesday after revealing he failed his test first time around.
The surprise setback occurred in 2022, before the 19-year-old Briton’s grand prix debut.
“I did pass second time. I shouldn’t have told that. I didn’t stop at a stop sign,“ he explained to reporters ahead of Formula One’s unprecedented 10-team season launch at London’s 02 Arena.
“I didn’t blow it. I slowed down. I was crawling but you’re meant to stop. We don’t have those (signs) on race tracks.
“Typical me, or typical racing driver, I thought I could pass my test without having lessons so that’s probably where I went wrong. After that I took a few lessons before the second one.”
Bearman will be starting his first full season in Australia on March 16 after an impressive debut as a stand-in for both Ferrari and Haas last year.
One of his rivals will be 18-year-old Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli, seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes, who passed his driving test only in January.
“I was quite nervous, I’m not going to lie,“ Antonelli told Reuters separately on Tuesday, although he need not have worried.
“After the test we also had a nice conversation because she’s really passionate about the sport,“ he said of the examiner.
“But in the test, you know, she was being like my examiner. No matter who I was, she wanted to see me respecting all the rules and everything… she said I did well. Just at the start, I was a bit too aggressive with the steering.”
