Oliver Bearman stands on the cusp of getting a Formula 1 race ban but insists he is not going to change his approach ahead of the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.
The 20-year-old enters his second full-time season with Haas, this year.
That said, the Briton is perilously close to picking up a one-race ban having accumulated 10 penalty points on his superlicense last year.
Bearman rounded off the 2025 campaign at the Abu Dhabi GP – picking up a five second penalty and a penalty point on his license after the stewards deemed he moved under braking during a battle with Lance Stroll.
This means, heading into the race weekend at the Albert Park Circuit, the Haas driver is only two penalty points away from being sanctioned by the FIA.
The rules dictate that a driver cannot accumulate more than 12 points on his license in a 12-month period. This, for Bearman, would come to an end at the Canadian GP weekend.
Naturally, one would expect Bearman to be walking on ‘eggshells’ for the upcoming race weekends.
But the Briton is defiant, insisting that he won’t change his approach to driving especially when it has universally been accepted in the paddock that penalty points were “dished out quite happily” last season.
“No, it doesn’t change, to be honest,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “We agreed as drivers, with the FIA, that penalty points were dished out quite happily last year.
“As a group, we’ve concluded that it shouldn’t be for every single infringement that penalty points are given.”
Be that as it may, Bearman did acknowledge that he faces a real prospect of missing out on a race weekend – something he is eager to avoid.
“Of course, I know that I’m on the edge, and of course, I don’t want a race ban. I have to keep that in mind, that’s for sure,” he added.
Bearman is ‘learning the hard way’
Notwithstanding the incident at the Yas Marina Circuit, Bearman picked up a staggering amount of penalty points in the preceding races of the 2025 campaign.
At Monaco, the 20-year-old was admonished for a red flag infringement, picking up two points on his license.
At Silverstone, he made the same “mistake” again, this time, picking up a hefty haul of four penalty points. Bearman picked up a further two points on his license after he tangled with Carlos Sainz at the Italian GP.
Looking back, Bearman isn’t proud of these incidents but insisted that he has learned his lesson “the hard way” and that all of this was part of his “normal progression” as a rookie.
“I obviously had a lot with my red flag in Monaco, and the same in Silverstone,” he explained. “Those were mistakes, and I totally take that on the chin.
“Those mistakes I will never make again, and I learned the hard way. Of course, I’m so much more mature and experienced than I was 12 months ago, even six months ago. It’s normal progression.”
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