Following an incident with Carlos Sainz during the Italian Grand Prix, Oliver Bearman is close to becoming the second driver to be hit with a Formula 1 race ban.
The incident occurred as the pair approached the second chicane at Monza, Bearman took the inside line and, with Sainz on the outside, the two then collided.
After reviewing the video and in-car evidence, the stewards concluded that Sainz’s Williams was ahead at the apex and therefore held the right to the corner.
The stewards wrote in their report: “The driver of Car 87 defended his position on the inside instead of giving up the position and caused the collision.
“The Stewards determine that the driver of Car 87 is predominantly at fault and therefore the standard penalty for such incidents is applied.”
The two penalty points put the Briton on a total of 10, just two away from a one-race ban.
Bearman’s following points don’t expire until November 1, giving the Haas driver four more races to reduce his total.
Bearman made his debut with Haas last season in Baku, following Kevin Magnussen’s race ban.
This year, if the rookie received a race ban, it would likely be Ryo Hirakawa, the Haas reserve driver, who would take his place.
Bearman admits collision ‘a shame’
Bearman was dejected after the race, left to rue what could have been a strong points finish to add to the top-10 result that he achieved at Zandvoort
When he was asked about the incident post-race, he told media including Motorsport Week “I haven’t looked fully into it.
“I need to have a look, but it’s a shame because we were having a good race.
“Definitely in the points, I was right behind Bortoleto, in front of Hajar. So I think we easily have points on offer today.”
The Briton touched on the incident. However, he divulged that he hadn’t looked back on the incident that had pushed him close to being banned.
“I haven’t seen the incident. It’s tough until you watch it back without emotion.”
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