Oliver Bearman penalized 10 places on the grid at Silverstone

A costly mistake. Oliver Bearman, who crashed in the final seconds of the third Free Practice session while returning to the pits under a red flag, was heavily penalized. The Briton will be penalized 10 places on the grid this Sunday, dashing his hopes of a strong showing on home soil.

Bearman was very enthusiastic heading into his first British Grand Prix, and he was quite impressive this morning. After a difficult Friday, the Briton finished 6th in Free Practice 3, which was disrupted by two red flags in the final quarter of an hour. He was indirectly responsible for the first, having lost a piece of carbon on the track.

Once the second red flag is waved following Gabriel Bortoleto's exit from the track, theThe Briton headed to the pit lane, where he appeared to simulate a rapid deceleration, as if he were in a race. Unfortunately, Bearman had forgotten to take one factor into account: the temperature of his brakes, which was very low after a lap of rest. "What an idiot.", he moaned on the radio after his spin that sent him crashing into the wall.

Bearman also receives 4 penalty points on his Super Licence

As the commissioners remind us in their conclusions, under red flag, "All cars must immediately slow down and slowly enter the pit lane.". However, Bearman had accelerated again a few meters earlier and then lost control of his carThe sanction was inevitable, as it is a matter of security.

However, the Briton received a double penalty: in addition to these 10 penalty places, four points were deducted from his Super Licence, bringing his total to eight. As a reminder, once a driver accumulates 12 points in a year, he is suspended for one race. This incident therefore not only jeopardized Bearman's chances this weekend, but also requires him to be vigilant in the coming months. Bearman had taken advantage of the recklessness of Kevin Magnussen, suspended after reaching 12 penalty points, to compete in the Azerbaijan GP with Haas last year. It's up to him to avoid being deprived of a race in turn.

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