F1 Silverstone FP3: Chaos as Gabriel Bortoleto crashes and Ollie Bearman spins at pit entry. FP3 ends in chaos at Silverstone as Gabriel Bortoleto crashes at Becketts.

The final minutes of Free Practice 3 for the 2025 Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone ended in unexpected chaos, as two separate incidents disrupted the session. Despite a thrilling and tightly contested session at the top of the time sheets—with the fastest four drivers finishing within just one-tenth of a second—attention shifted to a series of accidents that brought the practice to a premature close.

Gabriel Bortoleto crashes, but should make it to Q1

The first incident involved Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto, representing Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. He lost control of his single-seater in one of the most spectacular and technically demanding sections of the entire Silverstone Circuit: the fast and sweeping Becketts complex.

After going off track, Gabriel Bortoleto’s car bounced over the grass in the run-off area, which caused a failure of the front-left suspension. Fortunately, the car did not hit the barriers, avoiding further damage. Although the damage was not catastrophic, the team’s mechanics—based in Hinwil, Switzerland—now face a race against time to repair the car in time for the Q1 qualifying segment.

Initially, there were concerns that the incident may have caused damage to the chassis, which would have required more extensive repairs and possibly sidelined Bortoleto from the rest of the day’s sessions. Fortunately, checks confirmed that the structural integrity of the car remained intact, giving the team hope that he can still participate in qualifying.

Ollie Bearman spins at pit entry and faces red flag investigation

Just moments after the red flag caused by Gabriel Bortoleto, another rookie, British driver Oliver Bearman of the Haas F1 Team, made an unusual and costly error. While entering the pit lane, Bearman misjudged his speed, arriving too quickly at the pit entry point. He locked up under braking, lost control of the car, and spun, damaging the front wing of his Haas VF-25 after striking the inside wall.

While the damage to Ollie Bearman’s car was significantly less severe than that of Bortoleto’s Sauber, the situation is more complicated due to the procedural circumstances. Bearman’s incident occurred while the session was already under red flag conditions, and he is now under investigation for not following the correct protocols during a red flag situation.

Despite this, there is currently no risk of Ollie Bearman missing Q1. However, the stewards will need to evaluate whether his actions breached any safety regulations, which could lead to a reprimand or penalty depending on the outcome of the investigation.