Haas’ Oliver Bearman explains long-ago failed driving test

Haas driver Oliver Bearman explained on Tuesday why he initially failed his driving test in 2022.

Bearman, 19, is embarking on his first full season in F1, and he will be among several young stars in the paddock, including 18-year-old Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Bearman said he took two attempts to pass his test. When asked about Antonelli getting his driving license last month, Bearman revisited his own surprising failure.

“I missed a stop sign,” Bearman told a news conference ahead of F1’s 75th anniversary launch event. “I didn’t blow it. I slowed down; I was crawling, but you’re meant to stop.

“We don’t have those [stop signs] on race tracks. Typical me, 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.”

Bearman served as a reserve driver for Ferrari last season and made his debut as the the Italian team’s youngest ever rookie, aged 18 years and 305 days, when he stood in for Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Grand Prix, finishing in seventh place.

He also filled in twice for Haas, finishing 10th in Baku and 12th in Sao Paulo.

F1 preseason testing begins in Bahrain between Feb. 26-28, with the first race — the Australian Grand Prix — scheduled for March 14-16.

F1 75 Live, which is being held to commemorate 75 years of the sport, will feature all 10 teams, the 20 drivers and the bosses. The unprecedented event will see each of the teams launch their liveries for the 2025 season.

While he privately tested for Ferrari last month in Barcelona — where he crashed — this will be the seven-time world champion’s first public appearance for Ferrari since announcing his shock move from Mercedes last year.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff likened seeing Hamilton in the red of Ferrari to seeing a divorced partner in a new relationship.

Formula 1 is set to implement “Monaco-specific regulations” in a bid to aid overtaking at the sport’s most famous race, the governing FIA announced on Tuesday.

The Monaco Grand Prix has been the jewel in F1’s crown since debuting in the inaugural 1950 season, but its winding streets also make racing difficult.

Last year, the race was red-flagged during the first lap, at which point most drivers completed their mandatory switch to a different tire compound, removing the need to make a pit stop.

Afterwards — with the top 10 all holding position — world champion Max Verstappen called the race “boring.” Home favorite Charles Leclerc ended up winning.

In a bid to improve the show, mandatory extra pit stops could be enforced as early as this year, with the Formula 1 Commission agreeing to the special rules after meeting on Tuesday.

With the aim of promoting better racing at the Monaco Grand Prix, the commission discussed proposals for Monaco-specific regulations,” a statement from the FIA read.

“The commission agreed to increase the numbers of mandatory pit stops in the race. These proposals will be further discussed by the Sporting Advisory Committee in the coming weeks.”

For a change midseason, there must be unanimous agreement from the Sporting Advisory Committee.

All other races are set to maintain the mandatory one-stop rule.

This year’s Monaco Grand Prix takes place May 23-25.

George Russell has not spoken to Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen since their end-of-season bust-up in Abu Dhabi last December and the Mercedes driver said on Tuesday he was not about to change his approach either.

Russell and Red Bull’s four-time champion traded accusations last year, with Verstappen saying he had lost respect for the Briton — who accused him of threatening behaviour and bullying.

“I haven’t spoken [with him],” Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, told reporters at a 10-team F1 75 season launch in London when asked whether there had been any reconciliation.

“No concerns about him or his driving or anything.

“That happened last year, and I want to focus on myself,” Russell, who has a new teammate in Italian teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli after the departure to Ferrari of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, added.

“Obviously, things I felt got out of line at the end of last year and I made it pretty clear that I’m not going to take it. But now, you know, it’s 2025 and I want to focus on the job and the job is to win.

“So, you know, I’m not going to change my approach fighting him, fighting any other drivers. The goal is the same and I guess we’ll see when we get going.”

Russell, a double race winner last year when Mercedes finished fourth overall, is in his fourth year at Mercedes and will be the effective team leader alongside Antonelli.

Verstappen won his fourth successive title in 2024 but McLaren’s Lando Norris is already the bookmaker’s favourite after last year’s battle.

The season starts in Australia on March 16.

The family of Michael Schumacher has lodged an appeal against a “far too lenient sentence” for one of the defendants found guilty in a blackmail plot.

Last week, a German court found three people guilty of trying to extract money from the Formula 1 legend’s family with the threat of releasing videos and photos of him.

Schumacher has not been seen in public since he suffered serious brain injuries in a 2013 skiing accident, and his family has kept his medical condition private.

The blackmail plot leader, Yilmaz T., was sentenced to three years in prison while his son, Daniel L., was given a six-month suspended prison sentence.