Ollie Bearman will receive a grid demotion of ten positions for disregarding red flag regulations during the third practice session of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, an incident that occurred in conjunction with his crash in the pit lane.
Bearman momentarily lost command of his Haas vehicle and made contact with the barrier upon entering the pit lane in FP3, while headed towards the pits due to a red flag condition triggered by Gabriel Bortoleto’s incident. Bortoleto experienced a sudden instability navigating the Maggotts and Becketts bends, ultimately ending up in the gravel trap with impaired suspension.
When Bearman collided with the barrier on his return to the pits, a significant part of his vehicle’s nose was dislodged, prompting other drivers to make swift maneuvers to avoid a collision.
Following his audible expressions of frustration over the team radio – displeased with his attempt to aggressively enter the pit lane with cold brakes – the stewards commenced an inquiry into the event.
The FIA’s official report from the stewards indicated that Bearman had failed to adhere to the guidelines specified within both the Formula 1 sporting regulations and the International Sporting Code, which mandate drivers to maintain a reduced speed while a red flag is active.
The report highlighted that Bearman had entered the pit lane access road at a speed of 260 kilometers per hour, which remarkably exceeded the speed recorded during his preceding in-lap conducted under standard conditions.
Consequently, Bearman will be penalized with a deduction of 10 grid positions from his qualifying result for the British Grand Prix, and will also incur four penalty points, bringing his cumulative total to eight.
“The stewards convened with the driver of Car 87 (Oliver Bearman), a team representative, and subsequently scrutinized positioning and marshalling system data, video footage, timing information, telemetry data, team radio communications, and in-car video recordings,” as stated in the stewards’ documented findings.
“The race was temporarily halted with a red flag at 12:33:57. Car 87 had reduced speed in response to the red flag and, as it approached Turn 15, significantly accelerated to race-like velocity, entering the pit lane entry at 260 km/h. The driver subsequently lost control of the vehicle within the pit lane entrance, resulting in a collision with the barriers.”
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
“Article 37.6 (a) of the Formula One Sporting Regulations, in conjunction with Article 2.5.4.1(b) of Appendix H within the International Sporting Code, stipulates that when a red flag is displayed, ‘all vehicles are required to immediately decelerate and cautiously return to the pit lane.’
“There is no ambiguity regarding the fact that the driver of Car 87 did not proceed with caution towards the pit lane, as the driver accelerated to replicate pit entry conditions as if under normal race circumstances. In fact, upon reviewing a prior in-lap conducted during standard racing conditions, it was determined that the driver’s speed during the red flag period was greater.
“Exacerbating the situation, the driver relinquished control of the vehicle and collided with the barriers while traveling at speed. The driver communicated that he had incorrectly estimated the temperature of the brakes, attributing this to the lap being executed at a reduced pace due to the red flag. While this might have been a contributing element to the incident, it was not regarded as an extenuating circumstance.”
Bearman had previously accumulated four penalty points due to an analogous infringement involving red flag regulations during the Monaco event, where the British competitor overtook Carlos Sainz in the Rascasse section during FP2.
Earlier in the FP3 session, a halt was prompted by remnants originating from Bearman’s car; a segment of the outer floor component detached from his VF-25 chassis, settling in the middle of the circuit.
