Oliver Bearman hit with grid penalty following red flag crash at British GP
Haas Rookie Oliver Bearman Hit with Grid Penalty After Pit Lane Incident at Silverstone
SILVERSTONE — Haas rookie Oliver Bearman has been handed a significant ten-place grid penalty and four crucial penalty points on his FIA superlicence following an incident in the final practice session for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Bearman lost control of his car under braking while entering the pit lane during a red flag period caused by Gabriel Borteleto's accident in the closing minutes of the session.
The regulations surrounding red flags are clear—drivers are required to reduce speed and proceed cautiously back to the pit lane when a session is suspended. However, stewards found Bearman to be in breach of these rules, noting that he was traveling significantly faster on his pit lane entry during the red flag period than on his previous laps under normal race conditions.
Official Statement from Stewards
In an official statement, the stewards laid out their findings:
“Car 87 had slowed down for the red flag and as he was approaching Turn 15 accelerated significantly to race pace and entered the pit entry road at 260kph. He lost control of the car in the pit entry road and crashed into the barriers.
Art. 37.6 (a) of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations and Art. 2.5.4.1 (b) of Appendix H of the International Sporting Code require that when a red flag is shown ‘all cars must immediately reduce speed and proceed slowly back to the pit lane.’
It is beyond doubt that the driver of Car 87 did not proceed slowly back to the pit lane when he accelerated to simulate entering into the pit entry road under race conditions. In fact, we looked at a previous in-lap under normal racing conditions and found that he was faster in this lap, under a red flag.
To make matters worse, he lost control of the car and crashed into the barriers while at speed. The driver informed us that he misjudged the fact that his brakes were not warm because the lap was done slowly, due to the red flag. While this may have been a factor contributing to the crash, we did not consider it to be a mitigating factor.
We accordingly penalized him per the penalty guidelines to a drop of 10 grid places with 4 penalty points.”
Superlicence Concerns
Bearman’s four penalty points bring his total to eight on his superlicence, edging him dangerously close to the 12-point threshold that would trigger a one-race ban. For a driver in his debut season, the accumulation of penalty points is an area of concern that could impact his participation in upcoming races.
A Mixed FP3 Performance
Despite the collision and subsequent penalty, Bearman showed promising pace in FP3, finishing the session in an impressive sixth place at his home Grand Prix. However, his qualifying performance is likely to be overshadowed by the steep grid drop.
Reinforcing FIA Safety Protocols
The misstep under the red flag serves as another reminder of the strict enforcement surrounding race regulations in Formula 1, reinforcing the importance of adhering to protocols designed for safety during suspended sessions. For Bearman, the challenge now will be to regroup and refocus as he looks to navigate through the field from the back of the grid on Sunday.
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