Unlike Verstappen, rookie adapts to avoid ban through penalty points
Oliver Bearman has five points finishes to his name in 2025. Photo: RacePictures.
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Kada Sárközi joined GPblog as an editor ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in the UK and has covered Grands Prix and other F1 events live.
With a race ban looming, Oliver Bearman will be more cautious moving forward, the Briton explained in Azerbaijan.
I don't have a choice. I would hope to get given space on the inside, but clearly there's a possibility that that won't happen, so I can't take that risk.- Oliver Bearman
Oliver Bearman has to be careful after his Monza incident with Carlos Sainz - Photo: Race Pictures
Bearman earned another two penalty points to his tally at Monza, causing a collision with Carlos Sainz. That brings up his total to 10 points, which means he is two away from a suspension.
In Baku, the rookie initially joked about having to race more carefully. "It's a shame. I guess I'll just go around the outside now," he laughed, referring to his incident with Sainz.
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"Of course [I will think about this more on track]. It's a shame that I ended up at this point," he continued.
"I did a very dangerous mistake in Silverstone. But I also got two from Monza or I got two from Monaco for the red flag [infringement], which I really felt like I did the maximum to avoid a dangerous situation there.
"So it's a shame that I end up with this many. Of course, the four that I earned is in Silverstone, I deserve [it], and I took that on the chin and learned from it."
He also explained that in situations like the one against Sainz, he now has to be more cautious.
"I don't have a choice. I would hope to get given space on the inside, but clearly there's a possibility that that won't happen, so I can't take that risk."
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Bearman a single incident away from suspension
The British driver made his Haas debut in Baku last year, replacing Kevin Magnussen after the Dane collected 12 penalty points himself.
If Bearman gets two further points in Baku, that means he would be suspended from the weekend in Singapore.
His next points will come off his license in on 2 November, ahead of the São Paulo Grand Prix.
| Weekend | Incident | Penalty points |
| 2024 São Paulo GP | Causing a collision | 2 |
| 2025 Monaco GP | Red flag infringement | 2 |
| 2025 British GP | Crashing under red flag | 4 |
| 2025 Italian GP | Causing a collision | 2 |
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Max Verstappen also remains close to a race ban, having nine penalty points on his license.
When the Dutchman reached 11 points after his incident with George Russell in Barcelona, the Dutchman explained he will not change his approach.
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