This Rookie Was Given a Huge Grid Penalty
Ollie Bearman was just hit with a 10-place grid penalty for the British Grand Prix happening Sunday, July 6th, due to a flag infringement during the final practice hour, better known as FP3, before the lights go out. The session has been interesting as the rookie lost a piece of bodywork from his car on the track, bringing out a red flag. The incident was revealed as the marshals retrieved the part of his car. Bearman spun out, hitting the barriers of the track, causing him to lose the front wing of the Haas car. Unfortunately, this happened under a red flag condition, as Gabriel Bortoleto spun off into the gravel area of the track. After the incident was investigated by the stewards, the young man was dropped 10 places for the start of tomorrow's race.
According to the steward's documentation, Bearman had slowed down for Bortoleto’s red flag, but he accelerated coming up on Turn 15 and entered the pit entirely too fast. He lost control of his VF-25 and crashed into the barriers, however, he was unharmed. Bearman told the stewards that he had misjudged his brakes, as they were not warm, due to the slow lap and red flag, but it was not considered a factor that would make the penalty less severe. With this unfortunate grid penalty, the 20-year-old Haas driver was also given four penalty points for his first Grand Prix home race of his Formula 1 career. This brings the rookie's total penalty points up to eight.
Along with Bearman receiving his 10-place penalty, Kimi Antonelli has also received a three-place penalty for causing a collision in qualifying. It seems it was a rough time for the rookies of Formula 1 in this particular race, yet here is hoping the trio of Bearman, Bortoleto, and Antonelli all do their very best tomorrow. On another note, congratulations to the king of Red Bull, Max Verstappen, as he has officially received his 44th career pole in Silverstone. With such interesting practices and qualifying sessions, this year's British Grand Prix at Silverstone will be one you will not want to miss out on. Make sure to watch the race on Sunday, July 6th!
