After qualifying eighth for the British Grand Prix, Oliver Bearman was in line to start seventh due to a grid penalty handed down at last week’s Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix to fellow rookie Kimi Antonelli. That put Bearman in line for the best starting spot of his Formula 1 career.
Oliver Bearman ponders what might have been after ‘horrible’ mistake at British GP
Haas rookie Oliver Bearman was in line for the best starting spot of his F1 career, but a ‘silly error’ will have him at the back of the grid at the British Grand Prix
Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
But the Haas driver will not start there. Instead, he will start 18th due to a “silly error” that resulted in a ten-place grid drop.
During Saturday’s final hour of practice, an accident from Gabriel Bortoleto brought out the red flag. Bearman was on his way back to the pits when he lost control of his VF-25, hitting the wall before coming to a stop. The incident cost Bearman not only the front wing to his challenger, but also what would have been the best starting spot of his career.
Race stewards found that Bearman “did not drive slowly back to pit lane” under the red flag, and assessed not just the ten-place grid drop, but added four penalty points to his FIA Super License.
Speaking with Sky Sports F1 after the session Bearman noted that he had only himself to blame.
“It sucks. Quite honestly it’s horrible, but I can only blame myself for that. It was my fault and a very silly error this morning,” said the Haas rookie.
“We were doing a very slow lap during the red flag and then coming into the pit entry with very cold tires and brakes I didn’t really account for that,” said Bearman on the incident in final practice.
“Just a silly, dumb error because when I hit the brakes they were stone-cold and so were the tires and I lost it. 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 can have a good race.”
You can see the incident in question here:
Despite the incident, and the penalty, Bearman was able to find the silver lining at Silverstone.
“On the other hand I’m really glad we had a good Qualifying. First of all, to validate the team’s hard work because we brought an upgrade this weekend and we were in Q3 on merit, so that’s great,” said Bearman.
“Qualifying has been our weak point for the past couple of events and now to be in Q3 on a track where there’s lots of high-speed, which across the season has not been our strongest feature, is a great feeling.
“I know I’m going to start from last tomorrow but I’ll see what I can do.”
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