Sun Jul 06 13:40:00 UTC 2025: ## Bearman’s Silverstone Shines Tarnished by Penalty After Red Flag Crash

**SILVERSTONE, England** – Oliver Bearman’s promising British Grand Prix weekend has been dealt a blow after the Haas driver received a 10-place grid penalty and four penalty points on his superlicence for crashing under red flag conditions during final practice.

The incident occurred as drivers were returning to the pits following Gabriel Bortoleto’s accident. Bearman, approaching the pit entry, lost control of his car under braking, resulting in a collision with the barriers. Stewards determined that Bearman accelerated to race pace on pit entry road under red flag conditions, travelling at 260kph.

Despite the setback, the young Briton showcased impressive pace in Saturday’s qualifying session, securing eighth place – a career best. However, the penalty relegates him to 18th on the grid for Sunday’s race.

“It’s not a relief [reaching Q3],” a visibly frustrated Bearman admitted after qualifying. “We were doing a very slow lap under the red flag, and then going into the pit entry with very cold tyres and brakes; I didn’t really account for that.”

He continued, “So yeah, just a silly, dumb error… I lost it. So silly, and really kicking myself. I wish I could go back and change it, but we can’t, so let’s learn from it and hopefully we’ll have a good race.”

Stewards cited a breach of Article 37.6 (a) of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations and Art. 2.5.4.1 (b) of Appendix H of the International Sporting Code, which mandates drivers to “immediately reduce speed and proceed slowly back to the pit lane” under red flag conditions. They found Bearman’s speed on the pit entry road to be faster than even his previous in-lap under normal racing conditions.

The four penalty points bring Bearman’s total to eight. Reaching twelve points within a 12-month period triggers an automatic one-race ban.

While Bearman finished the final practice session in a respectable sixth position, the penalty significantly diminishes his chances of a strong result at his home race. He will now face an uphill battle to salvage points from the back of the grid.

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