Formula 1 driver Oliver Bearman did not mince words when describing his own mistake during the final free practice session at the Silverstone Circuit, which led to a significant penalty. The British rookie, currently driving for the Haas F1 Team, received a 10-place grid penalty for the 2025 British Grand Prix after a bizarre pit-lane crash under red flag conditions.
The 20-year-old described his actions as “careless and stupid,” especially considering the circumstances. The incident occurred as he was returning to the pit lane following the red flag triggered by Gabriel Bortoleto. Upon entry into the pit lane, Bearman lost control of his car and crashed into the barrier—an unexpected and costly error.
Despite having achieved his best-ever Formula 1 qualifying performance by securing eighth position on the grid, Oliver Bearman will now start from the back of the grid due to the penalty. This weekend marks his first time racing in front of a home crowd at the British Grand Prix.
Race stewards issued the penalty noting that Bearman failed to “drive slowly back to the pits” during a red flag situation and that he did not take into account “cold tyres and brakes.” As a result, he was handed a 10-place grid drop and four penalty points on his FIA super licence.
Oliver Bearman’s Reaction:
Speaking to the media after qualifying, Oliver Bearman took full responsibility for the incident: “It’s horrible, honestly just terrible,” said the Ferrari junior. “But I can only blame myself for what happened. It was my fault and a really stupid mistake this morning.”
However, he also acknowledged the positive aspects of his weekend: “On the other hand, I’m genuinely pleased with how qualifying went. First of all, because it validated the team’s hard work. We brought an update this weekend, and making it into Q3 on merit is fantastic.”
“Qualifying has been a weakness for us in the past two rounds. So being in Q3 on a high-speed track—which has not been our strength this season—feels really good. I know I’ll be starting last tomorrow, but I’ll see what I can do in the race,” the British driver explained.
This is the second time Oliver Bearman has received a red flag-related penalty in the 2025 Formula 1 season. Earlier this year in Monaco, during a free practice session, he overtook Carlos Sainz’s Williams under red flag conditions. The Silverstone situation, however, was notably different.
“We were on an extremely slow lap during the red flag, then we came into the pits with very cold tyres and brakes—I just didn’t think about it,” he admitted – “It was just a superficial and really stupid mistake. When I pressed the brake pedal, it was ice cold, same for the tyres, and I completely lost control of the car. I’m really kicking myself about it. I wish I could go back and change what happened, but I can’t. So I’ll learn from it and focus on having a strong race tomorrow,” Oliver Bearman concluded.
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