Berman: I shouldn't have attacked at the limit right away.

      Oliver Berman crashed his car in the first practice session of the Australian Grand Prix. The mechanics did not have time to restore it, so the Haas racer missed the second session. Speaking to the press, Oliver explained that he had overdone it because, out of habit, he tried to get the most out of the car in Formula 2 already in the first practice session.

      Oliver Berman: "The car was handling well, and I wanted to get too much out of it too soon. This is my approach, which is not entirely appropriate in Formula 1. I'm used to the fact that in Formula 2 qualifying follows immediately after the first practice session, but in Formula 1 there are two more sessions, so there is no need to immediately attack at the limit. Maybe I overdid it a little bit, but it's completely my fault.

      I turned the steering wheel too hard at the apex of the tenth turn, flew into a rather bumpy area and lost control of the car. There was gravel, asphalt, grass, and hummocks in that place–as soon as I got there, I couldn't do anything because I lost control.

      I'm fine, the impact is not very sensitive, but the car got hurt. I apologized to the team. It would be nice if in the second session I could go out on the track and just check how everything works.

      The guys did a great job – the mechanics on both sides of the pits helped. I can only apologize to them. Now I have to have a few beers on Sunday."