Oliver Bearman has been penalised for driving in a “manner potentially deemed dangerous” in Formula 1’s Brazil Grand Prix sprint race after tangling with Liam Lawson on the opening lap.
The Briton takes a five-second penalty in his overall sprint race time, in which he finished 12th ahead of Lawson, although this will not affect his final position. Bearman was also awarded a single penalty point for the incident, bringing his total back up to nine just days after losing two points from his licence.
On the exit of Turn 3, Bearman had just lost a battle with hometown hero Gabriel Bortoleto and switched to the inside line on the run to Turn 4. However, Lawson had filled the space to the left of him and Bearman did not leave enough room for the Kiwi to avoid the grass.
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With Lawson still to Bearman’s left through Turn 4, the Haas driver left half a car’s width on the inside, but this was not enough space for Lawson; the two drivers touched, pitching Bearman into a spin.
Both drivers blamed each other in the aftermath of the shunt, but the stewards’ review of the incident prompted them to take Lawson’s side – noting that Bearman had created “unnecessary risk”.
The stewards’ report read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 87 (Oliver Bearman), the driver of Car 30 (Liam Lawson), team representatives and reviewed video and in-car video evidence.
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team
“After losing momentum at the exit of Turn 3, Car 87 was approached by Car 30, which had greater speed and was in the process of drawing alongside on the straight towards Turn 4. As Car 30 attempted to move alongside, the driver of Car 87 moved to the left, leaving insufficient room and forcing Car 30 to place two wheels on the wet grass.
“Although Car 30 managed to keep control and avoid contact, this manoeuvre occurred at high speed and created an unnecessary risk.
“The Stewards consider that the move of Car 87 constituted potentially dangerous driving, in breach of Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 2 e) of the International Sporting Code.
“As no contact occurred and Car 30 was able to maintain control, and considering consistency with comparable previous cases, the Stewards deem a 5-second time penalty and 1 penalty point to be appropriate and proportionate.”
The incident between Lawson and Bearman preceded a red flag in the sprint, six laps before the moment where Oscar Piastri and Franco Colapinto both sustained Turn 3 shunts after losing grip on the kerb, while Nico Hulkenberg also went off in the same place but was able to continue despite damage.
Bearman then later followed Esteban Ocon past Lawson once more as the Kiwi struggled in the final laps, then made up further places when Bortoleto crashed late on – and the errant front wing debris from the Sauber also dispensed with Alex Albon in the final lap.
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