The long way wait is finally over. After months of intense preparation, the 2025 Formula 1 season kicked off at Melbourne’s iconic Albert Park Circuit. For Aventum Group sponsored driver Ollie Bearman, it was a weekend full of new challenges.
Practice
The first practice sessions of the year are all about settling in, finding the pace and shaking off any pre-season nerves. But in Friday’s FP1 - the first practice session of the weekend, Ollie’s weekend took an early setback when he lost control of the car exiting Turn 9, crashing into the barrier.
Luckily, Ollie escaped unscathed - with a red flag waved to pause the session while car debris was removed from the track. Unfortunately, the damage to his car meant he missed valuable track time in the rest of the session and FP2 - the second practice of the weekend, while the team worked on repairing the car.
In the third and final practice session of the weekend - FP3, Ollie was back and immediately pushing to make up for lost time. However, a momentary mis-judgement - clipping the grass on his first flying lap - sent him into the gravel, cutting short his session once again.
Qualifying
Having missed so much running in practice, Ollie entered Saturday’s qualifying session with limited track time. Early on he reported gearbox issues over the team radio, struggling to get into fourth gear. With no representative lap set, it seemed Ollie would start from the back of the grid.
The Race
Starting from the pit lane after his team adjusted his car’s suspension following the repairs, Ollie lined up alongside fellow rookie Liam Lawson. The start of the race itself was chaotic, with fellow Formula 2 graduate Isack Hadjar crashing on the formation lap, resulting in an aborted start.
Once the race began, the action did not stop - with the cars of Doohan and Sainz also finding the barrier in the opening lap, prompting a Safety Car that lasted until Lap 7. When racing resumed, Ollie wasted no time in showing what was possible. On fresh, Intermediate compound tyres, Ollie set the fastest lap of the race at that point - an early reminder that, despite setbacks, he was here to fight.
Out of the six rookies on the grid, only two made it to the chequered flag - Ollie being one of them, making it to the finish line in P14 without any racing penalties, showing composure far beyond his years.
Looking Ahead
With the season officially underway, the next challenge awaits - the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, from 21-23 March, where Ollie will be looking to build on his race performance, now with a full race weekend’s worth of experience in his new car.
