The Haas driver, Oliver Bearman, has been penalized with ten grid positions and four penalty points following an incident during the last practice session of the British Grand Prix. Bearman lost control of his single-seater while heading to the pit entry, even though the session had been interrupted by the red flag, following Gabriel Bortoleto’s accident. After the qualifying session, the British driver, who achieved the eighth best time, his best result so far, will start from eighteenth position on the grid due to the imposed penalty.
Bearman explained that the error was caused by the temperature of the tires and brakes, which were cold due to the red flag. The driver regretted the incident, but was optimistic about the race. Red flags are used to suspend a session and force all drivers to slow down and return to the pit lane. The stewards observed that Bearman was going faster on the entry to the pit lane under a red flag than in previous laps. Car number 87 accelerated significantly when approaching the pit entry, reaching 260 km/h, losing control and crashing into the barriers. According to the Formula 1 sporting regulations, drivers must slow down and proceed slowly towards the pit lane when a red flag is displayed. The stewards determined that Bearman did not comply with this rule by speeding in the pit entry. The four penalty points bring Bearman’s superlicense total to eight. If a driver receives 12 penalty points within a 12-month period, it results in a one-race suspension. Bearman finished the last practice session at his home grand prix in sixth position.It’s not a relief. We were doing a very slow lap under the red flag, and then we pitted with the tires and brakes very cold; I didn’t really take that into account.
Oliver Bearman
